Champommier Wrongful Death Ruling Expected Today

A federal judge is expected to announce his ruling today in a multi-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of a teenager shot to death by an undercover federal agent in a Studio City parking lot.

The government argued during a bench trial in Los Angeles federal court that the June 24, 2010, shooting was justified and that 18-year-old Zachary Champommier tried to run down an officer with his mother's Toyota.

Carol Champommier and Eric Avery Feldman brought the suit two years ago against the United States, seeking between $8 and $10 million in damages for the loss of their son. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald is expected to announce his "findings of fact and conclusions of law"  today.

According to the suit, the victim was shot "without provocation, necessity or justification" as he drove slowly away from what he thought were strangers attacking an acquaintance in a shopping center parking lot in the 12100 block of Ventura Boulevard around 9:30 p.m.

The strangers were a group of federal, state and local law enforcement officers in plainclothes and unmarked cars gathered in the parking lot to debrief after serving a search warrant at a nearby home, court records show.

The defendants contend that Zachary Champommier was shot by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent as he tried to run over a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy working as part of the task force.

The parents allege poor training, reckless conduct and an attempt by members of the task force to "cover up" misconduct by lying and tampering with evidence during the investigation.

Investigators from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office concluded that the officers fired in self-defense and declined to recommend prosecution, court papers show.

Carol Champommier, a Porter Ranch resident, said her son had driven to the parking lot to meet a young man he'd chatted with online. But when Zac arrived, he saw the acquaintance scuffling with what appeared to be a group of rough-looking middle-aged men, she said.

The law enforcement officials had apparently noticed the victim's friend peering into parked cars looking for Zac and presumed he was a thief, Champommier attorney Cara Eisenberg said.

According to court papers, the men were part of a multi-jurisdictional task force of sheriff's deputies, Los Angeles police officers and DEA agents, dressed in leather jackets and T-shirts. They'd just completed a narcotics raid and were "debriefing" in the lot, with confiscated weapons and cash still in their unmarked cars, according to court documents.

Zachary Champommier had graduated with honors from Granada Hills Charter High School two weeks before he was killed, his mother said.

In an 11th-hour filing Monday, the plaintiffs asked Fitzgerald to consider, when making his determination, a recent California Supreme Court opinion concerning potential negligence liability of law enforcement officers sued for wrongful death after a shooting.

In the opinion, the court found that "tactical conduct and decisions preceding the use of deadly force are relevant considerations under California law in determining whether the use of deadly force gives rise to negligence liability."

See also:

Carol Champommier Faces the Officers Who Shot her Son

Also, check out this series:  

Remembering Zac—A Mother’s Living Memorial to her Slain Son, Part 1  

Remembering Zac—The Last Day She Saw Her Son Alive, Part 2 

Remembering Zac—Keeping His Memory Alive; Forgiveness? No, Not Yet, Part 3