Teen shot by LAPD officer in Hyde Park files $20 million claim

HYDE PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An attorney for a 15-year-old boy who was shot by a Los Angeles police officer in Hyde Park earlier this year has filed a claim against the city, seeking $20 million in damages.

Jamar Nicholson says he was unarmed when he was shot in the back by an LAPD officer in plain clothes near Florence and 10th avenues at about 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 10.

Nicholson, Jason Huerta and some of their friends were hanging out in an alley, police said, and one of the boys appeared to be holding what two LAPD officers thought was a gun. The boy was pointing it at one of his friends, police said.

The two LAPD officers who approached the boys allegedly told the boy to drop the weapon several times, but he failed to comply, prompting one of the officers to open fire, striking Nicholson in the upper back. None of the other teens were injured.

During the later investigation, officers learned the gun was in fact fake.

Attorney John W. Harris, who is representing Nicholson and Huerta, held a news conference Wednesday. Harris told reporters that the officers gave no warning before shots were fired.

"The LAPD has indicated that they said, 'Drop the gun. Freeze!' These gentlemen never heard such warning or command. The first thing they heard was the sound of bullets... Honestly, they were two white plain clothes detectives. They didn't know who they were, actually Jason thought they were gang members," Harris said.

Huerta said neither he nor Nicholson were holding the gun at the time of the shooting.

"Why would they shoot Jamar if he didn't have the gun? Why would you shoot someone who's vulnerable?" Huerta said.

Nicholson says he's "paranoid" and that he can't go anywhere because he has trouble trusting people following the shooting.

"I don't want to go downstairs because I don't know if the LAPD can come again and try to shoot us," Nicholson said. "I'm supposed to be able to go play, go play football with my friends at the park, but I can't do that now because I have a bullet wound that I still have to take care of."

The two LAPD officers involved in the case were working on another investigation down the street when they spotted the boys in an alley.

Harris says the city rejected the claim, and that he plans to file a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of his clients. Los Angeles Police Department officials declined to comment.

City News Service contributed to this report.