LOS ANGELES - s4story -- On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, a federal jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California unanimously awarded $3,000,000 to the daughter of Jermaine Petit, an Air Force veteran who was shot and seriously injured by officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department on July 18, 2022. The jury unanimously determined that the shots fired against Mr. Petit were not necessary to defend human life.

Mr. Petit's daughter was represented at trial by lead trial Dale K. Galipo and Rodney S. Diggs, who also served as trial counsel, along with attorneys Renee V. Masongsong and Brandon Tanter.

At trial, the evidence showed that Mr. Petit was unarmed at the time of the shooting but was carrying a car part in his right hand. When the officers initially approached Mr. Petit, he showed them the car part in his hand, and one of the officers stated, "It's not a gun, bro." Mr. Petit then walked away from the officers. Despite the statement that the object was not a gun, one officer fired two shots at Mr. Petit from his patrol vehicle, striking Mr. Petit in the jaw, and another officer fired one shot that struck Mr. Petit in the back as Mr. Petit was going to the ground or on the ground. Neither officer gave Mr. Petit a warning before using deadly force against him. The officers alleged that Mr. Petit turned toward them with the object and took a shooting stance, which was belied by the video evidence.

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Following the jury's verdict, lead trial counsel Dale K. Galipo stated, "I'm very pleased with the jury verdict and thankful to the jurors for giving justice and fair compensation for Mr. Petit's injuries and suffering."

Co-trial counsel Rodney S. Diggs stated after the verdict, "The video evidence made clear that Mr. Petit was unarmed and walking away when he was shot. This case was about confronting assumptions with facts. The jury saw what happened, rejected a narrative that wasn't supported by the evidence, and affirmed that deadly force cannot be used without necessity. That principle protects every member of our community."

Contact:

Dale K. Galipo, (626) 807-9317 dalekgalipo@yahoo.com; Rodney S. Diggs, (310) 570-1911, rdiggs@imwlaw.com