A Cypress Park family is filing suit against the LAPD for using excessive force to break up a children's halloween party last year, reports ABC 7.
Shocking video just released today shows LAPD officers using their batons at a party where women and children were present. A woman can be heard shouting, "why are you hitting me?" and "why are you doing this?" In the background, children are screaming and crying.
Danny and Gabby Moran went public with the lawsuit this morning, when they told the press their side of the story. The family was hosting a costume party when an LAPD sergeant arrived to respond to a noise complaint. Immediately, the Morans allege, the sergeant was unnecessarily combative. Danny Moran claims that the sergeant threw him against a gate and even used his baton against Gabby Moran and their young daughter.
Luis Carrillo, an attorney for the family, emphasized the need for better LAPD training. To the HuffPost, Carrillo pointed out that the sergeant in question didn't "utilize the first level of command" -- a verbal order -- before using force against the partygoers. "If they wanted to arrest someone, they could have easily asked instead of swarming the party en masse," said Carrillo.
While the claim was filed April 27, the LAPD still has time to avoid a lawsuit, according to Carrillo. The family would accept an apology, as long as the LAPD implements new training standards for how officers interact with the community.
The Moran family has five daughters from ages 3 to 10, and two of the children are undergoing counseling for what they witnessed last October. "What happened to them shouldn't happen to anybody," said Carrillo. He added, "This wouldn't happen in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica."
The LAPD promises an Internal Affairs Division review will take place, which will examine "critical issues including authority, participation, training, procedures, perception and credibility." The LAPD also added, "While we welcome the questioning of the officers’ actions, it is premature for the Department or the public to make a judgment in this case." Today was the first time the LAPD has seen the video.