Mark Trujillo was shot by an officer in Chandler, Arizona, while warning police about his family next door. The bullet severed his spine and left him unable to walk. A CBS News review identified more than 50 similar cases of bystanders shot by police since 2015.
Trujillo stepped outside after officers responded to a neighbor making threats with a gun. Body camera and Ring footage show officers firing at the suspect before another officer, who had not received the update that the suspect was down, shot Trujillo instead.
Trujillo told CBS News he gestured and said officers would hit his house. Five seconds later he was hit. He recalled falling as his wife and children watched from the doorway. Trujillo filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Chandler Police Department and the city.
The city and department argue in court filings that officers were not negligent. The officers involved were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, but the civil case remains unresolved. Attorney Benjamin Taylor, who represents Trujillo, noted that qualified immunity often shields officers from such lawsuits.
The same CBS News review found additional cases nationwide, including the 2021 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta inside a Los Angeles store. A jury found the LAPD not liable in May.
