![]() ![]() Our deepest condolences to the French Family. We know that the acts of a few do not represent the whole, which is why we hope law enforcement agencies throughout the state will equally reach out to The Arc and other disability organizations to learn more about our community and how we can work together to make the community safer for people with all types of disabilities. The Arc of California has made it a priority to build relationships with the law enforcement community, including promoting The Arc’s Pathways To Justice initiative, and sponsoring SB 338, which was signed into law with support from the law enforcement community and will create a detailed plan for law enforcement to prevent and respond to victimization of people with disabilities. Kenneth’s death is a senseless tragedy that magnifies the troubling divide between the disability community and law enforcement as well as the urgent need for officer training related to disability and the use of de-escalation techniques. ![]() Regardless of disability type – intellectual, developmental, physical or mental health – people have a right to be in the community without fear of being shot because they cannot or do not respond to law enforcement in a certain or expected manner. Some statistics suggest that between one third and one half of fatal law enforcement encounters involve a person with a disability. The statistics are frightening as they relate to the high rate of fatal encounters between law enforcement and people with disabilities. We cannot continue to lose members of our community as a result of the criminalization of disability. Without accountability, this tragedy reconfirms a message our community hears far too often: that this behavior is acceptable and excusable because it was a person with a disability who did not “respond” appropriately. Kenneth French, 32, was killed, and his parents, Russell and Paola French all of Corona were. That this is somehow the only choice, when Kenneth was unarmed and his parents were reportedly telling the officer that their son has a disability and begging the officer not to shoot, is absurdity. The shooting occurred on the evening of June 14, 2019, inside the Costco at 480 N. Causing additional concern is the statement made by the officer’s attorney that the officer had “no choice but to use deadly force”. Among the most pressing of the concerns is the immediate use of deadly force within a few seconds of an initial altercation with Kenneth. Given the information that is known to the public, the failure to indict Officer Sanchez on criminal charges raises several questions and concerns for the disability community. ![]() After several months of investigation, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office made an announcement on Septemthat they declined to bring charges against Officer Sanchez stating that a Riverside County grand jury decided that criminal charges against the officer were not warranted. On June 14, 2019, then-Officer Sanchez, while off-duty, shot and killed 32-year-old Kenneth French after French, who was nonverbal and unarmed, struck him in the head as Sanchez held his. His parents were also shot and wounded in the altercation. “This is a family that was unarmed and was just grocery shopping,” Shureih said on Facebook.On JKenneth French, a young man with disabilities, was shot and killed by an off-duty LAPD officer while shopping with his family at a Costco in Corona, California. Corona police are also asking any witnesses who have not yet given a statement to step forward. Shureih asked anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact him. “Do they look intimidating to you? Did he really have to shoot them all? I’m posting this picture because the stories on social media have made them out to be the suspects, and the off duty cop the victim.” In a Facebook post Sunday, Shureih shared a photo of the victim and his parents. He said he wasn’t sure of French’s exact disability. McKinley St., where 32-year-old Kenneth French was killed and his parents, Russell and Paola French, all of. Read the police statement on the shootingįrench was able to drive and cook but was unable to live on his own and hadn’t spoken in recent years, Shureih told the newspaper. The shooting occurred on the evening of June 14, 2019, inside the Costco at 480 N. Shureih said it’s possible his cousin may have bumped into someone but he wouldn’t have been able to communicate that he was sorry, the Los Angeles Times reported. He’s always been very cooperative and kept to himself.” ![]() Speaking about his cousin, Shureih told the paper, “He was a gentle giant … He’s never been violent in the past. Police respond to a fatal shooting at the Corona Costco. ![]()
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