Family of Black teen who was killed by L.A. sheriff’s deputy awarded $3.75 million

The family of an unarmed Black teen who was killed by L.A. sheriff’s deputies who claimed he had a gun, was awarded $3.75 million in a settlement, The New York Times reports.

Anthony Weber, 16, was shot and killed in Feb. 2018 by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who claimed he was armed at the time of the confrontation. But no gun was found at the scene of the fatal police shooting.

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This week, county officials approved the settlement with Weber’s family, who sued saying that his civil rights were violated.

“I think there’s a cover-up here,” said the Anthony’s father, John Weber who is still at odds with the results of the investigation. “That’s just the way they do business,” he said about the settlement that was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the settlement.

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Weber is still upset that the deputy who killed the teen was not charged in the case while he has to grapple with his son’s death.

“I think we got screwed,” he said. “I think we really got screwed.”

Two deputies responded to a 911 call in which the caller said that he was afraid for his life when he saw a young man pointing a gun at a motorist. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. Capt. Chris Bergner said at a news conference said that the responding deputies saw the teenager, who matched the description, and saw that he had a gun tucked into his pants.

Bergner said that the teenager ignored deputies’ commands and ran into an apartment complex that was apparently known to be a gang hideout.

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Deputies chased the teenager until they say he turned toward them. He was then shot “several times” in the upper body by a deputy who fired ten shots, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Weber however said his son was unarmed and was shot 13 times in the back.

“No gun was found at the scene, and the area was secured by the deputies, and it would have been impossible for anyone in the crowd to have taken the gun,” Gregory A. Yates, a lawyer for the family, said on Wednesday. “Their defense for shooting young Anthony was fabricated.”

Jim McDonnell, the former county sheriff, backed the deputies.

“As you can imagine, until you are at one of these scenes, you don’t have an appreciation for just how chaotic they get, how dangerous potentially,” he previously told KPCC, a public radio station. “You don’t know which additional threats are in the environment, either.”