The family of an innocent bystander killed in a shooting by a Guadalupe police officer last summer has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, the Police Department and the officer who fired the “senseless, careless and unjustified” shots.
The lawsuit named the estate of Juan Luis Olvera plus his widow, Silvia Moya Olvera, and their four children — Luis Alberto Olvera, Juan Junior Olvera, Zuleima Olvera , and Jorge Alberto Olvera — as plaintiffs, and the city of Guadalupe, the Guadalupe Police Department, and Officer Miguel Jaimes as defendants.
The civil case, filed by Long Beach-based attorney Arnoldo Casillas, stemmed from the fatal shooting on Aug.21, 2021, of the 58-year-old Guadalupe man by Jaimes, a Guadalupe police officer, who allegedly panicked while trying to apprehend a suspect, referred to as a motorist.
“The motorist was not armed nor did the motorist engage in any assaultive or threatening activity or movements. Despite this, and after ample time to deliberate about the consequences of using deadly force, defendant Jaimes fired several panicked shots at the motorist,” the lawsuit said.
Other officers at the scene did not fire their weapons “because there was no reasonable basis to do so, and shooting toward an occupied residence and vehicle would be too great a risk of needlessly injuring, or worse yet, fatally wounding others.”
The complaint identified the victim as Juan Luis Olvera, while the state said his name was Juan Luis Olvera-Preciado.
One bullet struck Olvera in his head while he was sitting in his SUV in his driveway on the 100 block of Obispo Street waiting for his wife so they could go out to dinner.
“The goal of this civil rights action is to demonstrate that the use of deadly force by defendant Jaimes was senseless, careless and unjustified, and shocks the conscience, and that his unwarranted use of deadly force was a result of the lack of training by the city of Guadalupe and its Police Department.”
The city of Guadalupe did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit or an update on the employment status of Jaimes.
“Any officer-involved shooting incident is always unfortunate and tragic,” Steven Rothans, Los Angeles-based attorney for the officer, told Noozhawk. “However, it would be premature for me to comment on this officer-involved shooting until such time as the investigative report and findings have been completed and reviewed.”
The detained motorist had a warrant seeking his arrest for identity theft “and not for crimes of violence,” according to the complaint, which also said the man complied with police orders after stopping his vehicle near the intersection of Obispo and Birch streets.
Lighting in the area, including from the patrol cars’ headlights, streetlights and nearby houses, “clearly illuminated the motorist,” and allowed officers to see him.
Jaimes fired four to six shots, and despite his close proximity, failed to hit the suspect. Instead the wayward shots struck the family home and left the father of four dead in his SUV.
“The circumstances were not life-threatening. The unarmed motorist had moved slowly and deliberately in a compliant response to the officers’ instructions, allowing defendant Jaimes to meaningfully and cautiously evaluate the circumstances that were present before and during the shooting,” according to the lawsuit. “There was no reason for defendant Jaimes firing his gun at the motorist that night. “
The complaint lists seven claims for relief against the various defendants, including: violation of substantive due process rights with excessive force, municipal liability for unconstitutional customs and practices, interference with familial integrity as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, battery, wrongful death, civil rights violations and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiffs are asking for compensatory damages, including pre-death pain and suffering damages, general damages, and special damages, and statutory damages for violation of the laws and Constitution, along with punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and lawsuit costs.
The shooting remains under investigation by the California Department of Justice under a law that took effect July 1, 2021. Assembly Bill 1506 called for the state to investigate when an unarmed civilian dies in an officer-involved shooting.
Civil complaints only tell one side the case, and attorneys for the city, the Police Department and Jaimes will file responses to the lawsuit in the coming weeks.
“The parties, early this year, agreed on a private mediator and had anticipated scheduling a mediation to occur shortly after the release in late March of the California Department of Justice’s investigative report into the shooting that killed Plaintiffs’ decedent, Juan Luis Olvera,” the plaintiffs’ attorney said.
During the Jan. 25 City Council meeting, Chief Michael Cash reported that DOJ officials said the investigation into the shooting was complete, and invited to attend a presentation of the results. In early February he said he was still waiting for that presentation.
Casillas wrote in a declaration filed for the civl case that the state DOJ report’s release won’t occur for a several more months so the parties had not set a date for mediation.
“Despite the delay in the release of the Department of Justice report proceeding with service of the summons and complaint, the parties remain willing to participate in an early mediation,” Casillas added.
Guadalupe’s incident is one of 15 officer-involved shootings under investigation by the state DOJ since July 1.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.