The city of Los Angeles is paying nearly $40 million to settle three lawsuits alleging abuses by the LAPD, including one brought by the family of a Trader Joe’s manager who was accidentally killed by a police officer shooting a fleeing suspect.

Melyda “Mely” Corado was fatally shot in 2018 at the Silver Lake store where she worked. Her father and brother sued the city and the officers involved in the shooting, alleging they recklessly opened fire into the crowded store.

The $9.5 million settlement with the Corado family, which had been previously negotiated but not disclosed, was the smallest of three payouts the City Council approved Friday.

The others were:

• $17.7 million for the family of Kenneth French, a 32-year-old mentally disabled man who was fatally shot by an off-duty LAPD officer at a Costco store in Corona in June 2019.
• $11.8 million for James Simpson, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a fallen traffic light pole in an accident caused by an LAPD detective who ran a red light.

The council unanimously approved all three settlements.

In a statement released through their attorneys, Corado’s family members said they would “always keep her memory alive.”

“Nothing will bring Mely back to us, and we are forever heartbroken by her violent death at the hands of those who are supposed to protect and serve the community,” the statement said. “We hope this settlement sends a loud message to the LAPD and all law enforcement agencies across the country that officers must be aware of their surroundings when firing their weapons.”

The family’s attorneys called the settlement the largest ever in an LAPD shooting case.

“Mely’s death could have been completely prevented if the officers had followed their training and considered their backgrounds when they fired,” said attorney Neil Gehlawat. “Officers are required to consider the dangers posed to bystanders when deadly force is used, and the officers here failed to do so.”

Corado was fatally shot on July 21, 2018, as two LAPD officers pursued Gene Evin Atkins, who was suspected of shooting his grandmother and girlfriend and then taking the younger woman hostage. Atkins led police on a lengthy chase in his grandmother’s car, firing at officers, running red lights and colliding with multiple vehicles, prosecutors alleged.

The chase ended at Trader Joe’s on Hyperion Avenue. Atkins stopped the car and ran to the store, which was packed with shoppers Saturday afternoon.

Atkins fired at the officers, who returned fire as he entered the store. One of the officer’s bullets struck Corado, killing her. Atkins was wounded in the arm, but he held shoppers and employees hostage in the store for three hours before surrendering. His trial is ongoing.

The LAPD was heavily criticized for shooting a bystander in what then-Police Chief Michel Moore described as “every officer’s worst nightmare.”

In the French case, the $17.7 million payout is roughly the same amount a federal jury awarded in 2021 after Officer Salvador Sanchez used excessive and unreasonable force. Sanchez, who was later fired, was off-duty when he and French got into a confrontation in a lineup to sample sausages.

Sanchez’s attorney claimed during the federal trial that he was knocked to the ground during the confrontation and believed French was armed. Sanchez’s bullets killed French and wounded his mother and father.

The LA Police Commission found that Sanchez violated department policy. Sanchez also faced charges of manslaughter and assault, but the prosecution ended in a mistrial earlier this year. A call to the French family’s attorney went unanswered Friday.

Simpson sued the city after he suffered numerous injuries when LAPD Det. Alex Pozo ran a red light in Chino while driving a city vehicle in August 2020. The driver of an SUV swerved to avoid a collision with Pozo and struck a traffic pole, which fell on Simpson, 70, as he walked on the sidewalk.

The City Council voted against approving a settlement for an LAPD sergeant who filed a lawsuit after being repeatedly disciplined for controversial posts on his personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. The sergeant, Joel Sydanmaa, accused the LAPD of singling him out for punishment because he expressed political views they didn’t like.

“We rejected their motion and asked them to go to court,” said Councilman Bob Blumenfield.

Sydanmaa’s attorney, Caleb Mason, said he was “disappointed” that city officials apparently went back on what he described as a signed settlement agreement.

“My client waited 3½ years for a trial date and then agreed to move that trial date two weeks before his trial based on the word of high-ranking city prosecutors — he trusted them,” Mason said.

Friday’s payouts come on top of more than $171 million in taxpayer money spent since 2019 to resolve legal claims accusing the LAPD of wrongful death, excessive force, negligence, discrimination and more, according to records from the L.A. city attorney’s office.

That amount could rise because the city has appealed several hefty payouts, including the $4 million a jury awarded to then-LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza, who sued over a nude photo doctored to resemble her that was shared with colleagues.