City of LA to pay $9.5M over fatal police shooting of Trader Joe's manager

Relatives of a Silver Lake Trader Joe's assistant manager who was mistakenly shot by police pursuing a suspect who ran into the store in 2018 formally reached a $9.5 million settlement with the city Friday.

Attorneys for the family and the City Attorney's Office had informed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Alison Mackenzie in May of a "conditional" resolution of the long-running case involving the shooting death of  Melyda "Mely" Corado, but no terms were disclosed.

The Los Angeles City Council gave final approval to the settlement Friday, according to attorneys for the family, who called the $9.5 million payout the "largest pre-trial settlement" ever paid by the city over a Los Angeles Police Department shooting.

"We are pleased that the city has acknowledged their wrongdoing and taken responsibility for causing Mely's death," plaintiffs' attorney John Taylor said in a statement. "After six years of fighting for justice for Mely, the Corado family's persistence and demands for accountability were finally recognized."

The Corado family issued a statement through their attorneys saying, "Nothing will bring Mely back to us and we are forever heartbroken by her violent death caused by those who are meant to protect and serve the community. We will keep her memory alive always. We hope this settlement sends a loud message to LAPD and all law enforcement agencies across the country that officers must account for their surroundings when firing their guns."

The family sued the city and Officers Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winans in November 2018. Corado was hit by a bullet from Tse's gun.

The suspect being pursued by officers -- Gene Evin Atkins, now 34 -- was shot in the left elbow as he ran from his car into the market following a police pursuit. He was subsequently charged with murder for the 27-year-old Corado's July 21, 2018, death, along with 50 other counts, including shooting and wounding his grandmother and 17-year-old girlfriend and firing at police officers. He is still awaiting trial.

Prior to the shootout at Trader Joe's, Tse and Winans began to pursue Atkins, who had earlier allegedly shot and wounded his grandmother. The chase went on for about 15 minutes and covered about nine miles, ending when Atkins' car hit a pole near the market.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office released a report in December 2020 finding that Officers Tse and Winans were "justified in using deadly force in an attempt to stop" the suspect.

Atkins previously sent a handwritten note to the plaintiffs' lawyers stating that he never fired any shots after his car crashed outside the Trader Joe's at the end of the police pursuit, but the officers maintain he did fire in their direction.

Both Tse and Winans submitted sworn statements to the court in May in support of the city's motion to dismiss the case pending the settlement approval.

"I had no alternative but to fire my weapon at Gene Atkins in order to stop this deadly threat that he, himself, had created," Tse wrote. "I fired based upon his actions and stopped when I realized he was moving into the Trader Joe's entrance to avoid striking individuals inside, despite the fact that he was still considered a violent fleeing felon and continued to pose an imminent threat of serious/great bodily injury and/or death while inside Trader Joe's."

Shots fired by Atkins at both officers struck a nearby pole, according to Tse, who further says he and his partner ran for cover behind a concrete wall in the parking lot while Atkins was inside the store.

In her declaration, Winans said Atkins posed as much of a deadly threat to the Trader Joe's patrons as he did to her and Tse.

"No longer could I avoid the unfortunate need to fire my weapon to stop Gene Atkins' deadly actions, but I also was forced into this situation based upon the deadly actions that Gene Atkins had demonstrated he was capable of engaging in," says Winans, who fired three shots.