Kirakosian Law Recovers $1.15 Million Dollars from the City of Los Angeles for Wrongful Death of Anthony Soderberg.  

On April 7, 2021, the Los Angeles City Counsel voted and approved the settlement in the amount of $1.15 Million dollars for the wrongful death of Anthony Soderberg.

In 2018, Kirakosian Law filed the wrongful death action, representing the mother of Anthony Soderberg, claiming that on May 8, 2017, thirteen S.W.A.T. officers of the Los Angeles Police department caused catastrophic personal injuries to Soderberg after numerous shots were fired that ultimately lead to his wrongful death.

Following the incident and the wrongful death of Mr. Soderberg, the Medical Examiner determined that Soderberg had been shot 17 times and had a total of 31 entry and exit wounds, all from high-powered rifles. This included 5 shots to the back, all identified by the Medical Examiner as causing life threatening personal injuries and ultimately causing the death of Mr. Soderberg.

During the investigation, Kirakosian Law uncovered facts that showed that all 17 shots that caused the wrongful death of Mr. Soderberg occurred at a time when he was unarmed. Additionally, Kirakosian Law discovered that the majority of the shots fired that caused the catastrophic injuries of Mr. Soderberg were fired from 300 feet to 600 feet away, including numerous shots fired from an arial helicopter.

After an investigation into the incident, a report on the incident filed with the L.A. Police Commission found that Mr. Soderberg was not armed and posed no threat to the officers when he emerged from the home and was shot by the officers. The commission found that officers opened fire on Soderberg when they were not in imminent danger or were too far away to distinguish a threat. Twelve of the officers used deadly force in ways that violated department rules, the panel found.

Kirakosian Law also discovered evidence that a commanding officer who identified himself as “10-David” broadcasted through his radio what amounted to a shoot-to-kill order by instructing fellow officers not to allow Mr. Soderberg to leave the residence at any costs.  However, the S.W.A.T. officers were simultaneously instructed and did throw hot gas and tear gas into the residence to force Mr. Soderberg out of the home.  Ultimately, the thirteen defendant officers all indiscriminately fired upon the unarmed Soderberg, regardless of whether he truly posed a threat to any Officer or the public, without having a view of Soderberg, and without any reasonable or justifiable evidence if he was truly armed or not.  Ultimately, it was at this moment when Soderberg was shot 17 times and sustained catastrophic personal injuries.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Greg Kirakosian , the lead attorney at Kirakosian Law representing Soderberg’s family, “called the settlement ‘a good resolution.’ Kirakosian said the discovery phase of the case, where evidence is collected and produced by both sides, had already concluded when SWAT Sgt. Tim Colomey filed his separate whistleblower lawsuit last summer alleging that SWAT leaders turned a ‘blind eye’ to a ‘culture of violence’ in which lethal force was glorified. Colomey’s suit didn’t identify any specific incidents, but his attorneys told The Times that they included three incidents that he had previously reported — including Soderberg’s case. Kirakosian asked the judge presiding over the family’s lawsuit to reopen discovery so that he could look into the ‘SWAT mafia’ allegations. Kirakosian said that when the judge agreed and said the attorney could depose Colomey, the city came to the table to settle. Colomey was never deposed in the case.”

Before reaching the settlement, city attorneys broadly denied the allegations in the lawsuit and argued that it should be dismissed.

Kirakosian Law is a Los Angeles based law firm that focuses their practice on personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California and is actively involved in numerous additional high profile personal injury cases against corporate and governmental entities.