Parents of Child Killed by LAPD Car File Claim

A lawyer for the family of a 3-year-old girl who was killed last month when she was struck by a Los Angeles police car filed a claim against the city Wednesday, alleging that the scout car was speeding at the time of the accident and should have had its emergency lights and siren on.

“We want to send a loud and clear message to the LAPD that they can’t do this again,” said Diane Vallette, who is representing Inglewood residents Bessie Wilson and Troy Spears, parents of the dead child, Dominique Spears. The action Wednesday is required by law before a lawsuit can be filed.

The child was killed June 30 in the 900 block of West 64th Street, a residential area of South-Central Los Angeles. Police at the time said that the two officers in the car were responding as backup to a report of a fight and gunfire. The child had started across the street to get to her 11-year-old sister. Officials have acknowledged that the scout car did not have its siren and emergency lights on.