Family of LAPD Shooting Victim, Ricky Ramirez Jr., Speaks Out in Outrage
Watch the latest news coverage on the tragic shooting of 18-year-old Ricardo ‘Ricky’ Ramirez Jr. by LAPD Sergeant Michael Pounds via CBS News
Press Conference Regarding the Shooting Death of Ricardo “Ricky” Ramirez, Jr. by The LAPD
August 5, 2024—Los Angeles, CA—On July 13th, 2024, eighteen-year-old Ricardo “Ricky” Ramirez, Jr., a recent Richmond California high school graduate, was tragically shot and killed by Vice Officer Sergeant Michael Pounds LAPD. Ricky, along with three other young men, had traveled from Richmond to Los Angeles to enjoy LA’s beaches and sunny weather.
On July 13th, while traveling the Figueroa Corridor, the young men were riding in a silver Cadillac when they began being tailgated and aggressively menaced by a dark Honda/Toyota type sedan, with blacked-out window tinting. After making several turns it was apparent that they were being targeted by the harassing vehicle. Unarmed, Ricky and another passenger exited the Cadillac, and approached the sedan asking, arms extended, palms up, why they were being followed. As Ricky approached the car, a single shot was fired into his chest from behind the tinted driver’s window. The other occupant ran back to the car which drove away, the occupants in fear for their lives, unaware that the shot was fired by an LAPD officer. The LAPD Use of Force Division (FID) and the California Department of Justice are investigating this matter under case number BI-LA2024-00052.
Attorney for the family, Christopher Dolan, of the Dolan Law Firm in LA and San Francisco, has issued the following statement. “A 2023 study reported that over 1,020 people in LA County have been killed by police since 2020. The report revealed that “Almost all the dead were men, nearly 80% were Black or Latino and nearly 92% were shot to death.” Ricky, a Latino man, was shot and killed by a senior officer, concealed behind tinted windows in an unmarked car. Sargent Pounds was aggressively tailgating, being provocative, and never, in any way, identified himself as a cop. He didn’t turn on his blue and red strobes, use the P.A. system, issue any command to stop, nor warn he was going to shoot. Instead, Pounds carefully took aim and fired a lethal shot through the tinted driver’s side window, into the center of Ricky’s chest. Ricky never knew that he was approaching an officer, never made any threats or contact with the vehicle and was shot for asking why the car was harassing them. He was murdered without justification and in violation of police policy designed to save lives. Sargent Pounds knew the law and he chose to break it, sending Ricky to his death. The police must be held accountable in order for these killings to stop. The DA and Attorney General should file murder charges.”
Ricardo Ramirez Sr. stated “Ricky, my only son, was a good kid, made everybody smile and feel loved. He was at the threshold of his whole life having just graduated and the LAPD shot him causing him to fall through death’s door. Hiding behind tinted glass, without any warning, Ricky was killed, his only crime was being young and of color. This has to stop.”
A press conference, announcing the filing of a lawsuit, is scheduled for Wednesday, August 7th at 11:30 AM in front of LAPD headquarters (100 W 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) where Ricky’s Family will express their outrage and demand for justice. At this event, it will be formally announced that a lawsuit will be filed. Media representatives are invited to attend and are asked to RSVP to holly@thesourcepr.com for further details and updates.
$11.8 MILLION Verdict in a Motorcycle Collision case
with Trial Attorneys Christopher Dolan and Kimberly Levy of the Dolan Law Firm, PC
Gonzalez v. Smith (San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CGC-20-582006) arose from a motor vehicle versus motorcycle collision caused by Defendant Luke Thomas Smith’s negligence which permanently injured, disabled, and disfigured Plaintiff Julian Gonzalez. Just after 5:30 p.m. on August 21, 2019, Defendant Smith executed a left turn from McAllister Street onto Larkin Street and crashed into Plaintiff Gonzalez who was riding his Harley-Davidson Road King straight through the intersection as part of through traffic. Gonzalez and his motorcycle went down and slid across the pavement. When Gonzalez came to rest, his left foot was severed at the ankle; his lower leg bones were crushed; and his foot was mangled; only a small amount of skin kept his foot attached. Gonzalez was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) where trauma surgeons performed a below knee amputation.
Toxicology results from SFGH showed amphetamine and methamphetamine in Gonzalez’ system. The traffic collision report placed Gonzalez at fault for the collision for alleged speeding. To make matters even more difficult, Gonzalez had been unemployed for the five years before the collision; had preexisting PTSD; and was on methadone maintenance therapy for heroin addiction.
Defendant’s theme was that Gonzalez was an unemployed drug addict who caused the collision when he drove recklessly and sped through the intersection on his motorcycle while high on methamphetamine. Because of the adverse police report and toxicology results, other attorneys declined to litigate his case. Chris Dolan found the case worthwhile. He and his colleague Kim Levy saw a path to keeping the toxicology and alleged impairment out of evidence: attacking chain of custody of the toxicology sample; hiring experts to dispute any impairment; and destroying the defendant’s experts at deposition.
Due to COVID concerns, the parties agreed to a bench trial with San Francisco Superior Court Judge Vedica Puri. The trial was held from May 23 through June 14, 2022. 10 witnesses testified in Plaintiff’s case; 7 witnesses testified for the defense, including the investigating police officer, Rodney Lane, who testified that he was an expert motorcyclist, and he had his own set of traffic safety rules for motorcyclists to follow – Gonzalez had failed to follow the book of Rodney Lane and therefore caused the collision.
After a long-fought battle, including exhausting law and motion practice both before and during trial, Judge Vedica Puri issued her decision awarding Plaintiff $11,789,316.00, a life-changing sum which will allow Gonzalez to obtain the care and treatment that he requires to live a more comfortable life, albeit now without his leg.
A federal jury orders city of Roy to pay $3.26 million to men shot by police
A federal jury awarded two residents of Roy, a town south of Tacoma, Washington a total of $3.26 million for injuries sustained after being shot by one of Roy’s police officers during a drunken joy ride in a 2019 snowstorm. The verdict is one of the largest reached in the Western District of Washington involving a nonfatal police shooting. See full press release on the lawsuit here.
