Llera v. LVMPD: DAY 2
Beginning of the Day
About 25 people showed up as part of the court support team yesterday. Day 2 of the trial began with establishing rules and expectations for the court. The court established that Jorge’s family is pursuing punitive damages under Nevada and Federal law. They have a right to consider medical expenses, funeral expenses, their suffering through loss of support and companionship, Jorge’s health and life expectancy, and any support that could have been offered.
The judge outlined simple rules and procedures:
The jury was instructed not to be biased by race, religion, class, or other identifying information.
The jury will determine the nature and extent of the damages.
If the jury rules in favor of the federal claims, it will result in punitive damages and deter future activities of the officers.
The jury was instructed not to engage in activities outside of court, not to communicate with anyone in person or online, not to read news about the event, and only to discuss the case with other jurors during deliberations.
The judge also explained the obligations of both sides. The plaintiff’s side, Jorge’s family, needs to prove that the defendants deprived Jorge of his First and Fourth Amendment rights, that he had a right to protest, and that the officers used excessive force.
The officers' side, the defendants, need to prove:
The nature of the crime Jorge committed
That Jorge posed an immediate threat to the officers
That Jorge was evading arrest
The relationship between the use of force and the amount force was needed
Probable cause that Jorge committed a crime
The number of lives at risk
Opening Arguments
The court session officially began with opening statements from both the plaintiff's side, Jorge’s family, and the defense side, the officers.
Plaintiff Side
Dale Galipo, Jorge’s family’s attorney, presented the facts of Jorge’s case in the opening statement, describing the scene of Jorge being at the protest for George Floyd. He discussed important facts for the case:
Jorge was open carrying.
Jorge doesn’t touch his weapon.
He raises his hands after being told by the officers.
The officer thought Jorge was carrying a bat.
The officers began firing less-than-lethal rounds without warning.
After the first two low-lethal shots struck Jorge, he began running away, and the rest of the officers began firing lethal rounds.
The attorney pointed out that there are special requirements to use deadly force, which include the immediate threat of death, the need to give a warning, and the need to give a person the opportunity to comply. He also highlighted that Squeo was the only officer to give a statement within 24 hours, while the rest took 5 to 6 days.
The plaintiff’s side stated that John Squeo violated Jorge’s First Amendment right by opening fire at all and that all officers used excessive and unreasonable force under the Fourth Amendment.
During the opening statement, the attorney stated that the evidence will show that the officers shooting overreacted, that they had already heard about the Circus Circus shooting, and that the officers only started shooting because another one did (known as contagious fire). He said that there will be four things needed to prove deadly force: ability, opportunity, imminent jeopardy, and preclusion.
He stated that all the officers claimed Jorge pointed a rifle at them, but the judge stopped him from suggesting that the officers lied about this, although video evidence was shown later in the day. During this opening statement, a few of the officers looked visibly rattled, with their faces turning red and legs shaking.
Defendant Side
The defendant's side then gave their opening statement, delivered by Attorney Dan McNutt on behalf of John Squeo. Their side began by discussing Squeo’s history in the police department, which began in 2014, and then presenting their interpretation of the events. They claimed the following happened:
They gave the dispersal order when Jorge was walking past the courthouse.
They claimed that Jorge stopped walking when they told him to keep moving, which led Collin Snyder to walk down to attempt to arrest him.
Squeo claimed that Jorge started to raise a bat toward Snyder, which caused him to fire bean bags at Jorge to stop an “assault”.
They claimed that the bean bags caused him to run.
They also pointed out that their gas mask obstructs their view.
In their argument, they said they are going to claim that the officers acted within their rights, that they gave all warnings and commands, and that Jorge attempted to assault an officer. Squeo’s attorney ended his statement by saying that Squeo had nothing to do with the actions of other officers and their use of force, while asking the jury to make a verdict based on the idea that he didn’t use excessive force.
Attorney Anderson gave the next part of the statement on behalf of lvmpd and the other officers. He claimed that the officers gave clear directives to Jorge and claimed that Jorge raised his weapon. The attorney said they will attempt to make the argument that Jorge posed an immediate threat, and evidence will show that the officers acted reasonably.
Testimony
After the opening statements, the rest of the day focused primarily on Squeo’s witness testimony and cross-examination by both attorneys. During the testimony with questions from Attorney Galipo, Squeo provided answers that covered the following:
Squeo fired bean bag rounds and was the only one who fired out of the 5-6 other officers in his unit.
He did not see a rifle until after Jorge fell, and he did not see Jorge raise a weapon when he fell.
He was aware that Jorge had a right to protest, that it was lawful to be on the sidewalk by the courthouse, and that Jorge had a right to open carry without being arrested.
He pointed a flashlight at Jorge, gave commands to walk southbound on the sidewalk, and Jorge complied with those commands.
He saw Jorge’s hands interlocked and confirmed that he did not make any threats, swear, cause harm to anyone, or use his weapon.
The decision to attempt to arrest Jorge was made in about 10-15 seconds, despite seeing no weapon or having any threats made.
He was the only officer who used force on Jorge, said he thought Jorge had a bat, and said he posed a risk to Snyder.
He contradicted his statement, saying that he commanded Jorge to put his hands up, and he saw him start to raise them before saying that this wasn’t true, and he only saw Jorge removing his hands from being interlocked.
There was never a warning given to Jorge about the use of low-lethal force.
He fired 4-5 bean bag rounds, and the 5th shot made Jorge fall.
In the testimony, there were a few moments that Squeo appeared to contradict himself, like when he said that Jorge was given a “dozen” commands when this didn’t seem to be the case. He also said that Jorge began to raise his hands in his initial statement after the murder, but then said he only saw his hands being removed from being interlocked and placed at his side in the testimony.
Attorney Galipo also presented several videos during the testimony to show how the events took place, showing Jorge’s hands interlocked, Jorge walking in front of the courthouse, where he was when he was shot at, and him falling while running away. The attorney pointed out to Squeo and the jury that Jorge didn’t appear to be assaulting anyone if he was running away.
Squeo was then questioned by McNutt and Anderson, the defendant’s attorneys. During this part of the testimony, some of the key points he made included:
He “could tell Jorge wasn’t going to leave” because he saw him “Break his hands apart and go to his right side”.
He believed Jorge was carrying a bat.
He felt that shooting bean bags was a form of de-escalation.
He would have used lethal force if it weren’t for the crowd nearby.
A tree had blocked his view of Jorge.
He said he wouldn’t change his actions from that night based on what he’s learned since then.
The session for the day ended after Squeo’s testimony. Members of the jury appeared to be engaged throughout the session, taking notes and staying focused on the questions. Some of them looked visibly moved while watching the videos recapping the events of Jorge’s murder. We’re hopeful there are some signs that jurors have empathy for Jorge and his family when they decide the case in a few days.
Going Forward
The case will continue for the next several days, likely into next week, going from 8:30am to 4pm each day. Starting Wednesday, the judge completely outlawed the use of phones and electronic devices like Apple Watches in the courtroom. If you are joining, please be sure to have all devices outside of the courtroom.
Your support still matters! We hope to have as many people in the courtroom as possible to support and show that the community is behind Jorge and his family.
