A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was charged this week with the fatal shooting of a suicidal father of three who had already been shot by police and was on the ground.
Remin Pineda, 38, is charged with felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm and assault under color of authority in connection with the death of David Ordaz, 34, on March 14, 2021. His arraignment has not yet been scheduled, according to a statement issued by DA George Gascón’s office on Thursday.
According to a previous LASD incident report, Pineda was one of several officers who responded to Ordaz’s family home last year after his sister called authorities to report that her brother was suicidal and carrying a knife.
The report claims that after being coaxed out of a car, Ordaz approached the officers with the knife in hand, “telling the deputies to shoot him.” According to body camera footage, he was briefly stunned by non-fatal rounds before continuing to move toward police, at which point the deputies opened fire.
After Ordaz fell to the ground and was pinned by officers, Pineda allegedly continued to fire his handgun. Ordaz was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The incident subsequently prompted widespread media coverage, not to mention a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the Ordaz family against Pineda and three other deputies, whom they accuse of using “unnecessary and lethal force.”
Ordaz, an amateur boxer and a father of three, had a history of mental health issues and wanted to commit “suicide by cop,” the Daily Beast reported. Days after the family’s lawsuit was filed in July 2021, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva released a statement saying he had “grave concerns” about the event, and that it was under investigation.
The three other officers named in the Ordazs’ suit – Deputy Edwin Navarrete, Deputy Jaime Romero, and Deputy Nathaniel Trujillo – have not been charged with a crime.
