LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27 -- The lawyer for a bystander who was seriously wounded by members of a controversial police unit has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking to put the unit that he calls a 'death squad' out of business. Attorney Stephen Yagman said today (Thursday) that he wants the court to either take control of the L.A.P.D.'s Special Investigation Section or force it to shut down.
He also asks the court to require the officers who shot 20-year-old Grover Smith to pay damages out of their own pockets. The lawsuit came as the U.S. Attorney's Office ordered an investigation into the incident, in which three suspected robbers were killed and one other suspect wounded Tuesday. The incident is also under investigation by the Police Department and its inspector general. Police Chief Willie Williams has acknowledged that officers shot Smith after mistaking him for one of the suspected robbers. Police say Smith was reaching for his waistband. At least two witnesses say Smith was shot at close range with a shotgun while he had his hands up. Yagman says Smith's entire upper right leg has been destroyed, and he is set to undergo surgery Friday morning. The lawyer says, 'It would be a miracle if he walks again or walks without impairment or a limp.' Yagman, who has successfully sued the LAPD over similar incidents, calls the S.I.S. a 'death squad' he is determined to disband. The 20-member unit puts known criminals under surveillance, then moves in after they've committed a crime. On Tuesday, they were after a San Fernando Valley gang believed to have robbed 20 bars, including one just minutes before the shootings. ---
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