A minor incident in line at Costco turns into a deadly bloodbath.
Imagine you are standing in line at Costco waiting to get rotisserie chicken.
You are there with your spouse, and your special needs child, now a grown adult.
Your adult child is upset by the crying from a toddler being held by his father, and in a fit, he whacks the man in the back of the head.
You try to apologize, but the man is upset, so he pulls out a gun and shoots you and your spouse as you try to protect your son.
And when you have fallen, he unloads his weapon on your son and kills him dead right in front of you.
As you lie on the floor in agony, you watch your son take his last breath.
It could have been me and my family
My son is a young man, and at the time of this writing, he is approximately the same age as the victim, Kenneth French.
My son often goes to the local Costco with me and my wife. The only thing separating my family from the French family is luck—nothing more.
If you are the parent of a special needs child who is a grown adult living with you, this could also have happened to you.
What happened?
For reasons unknown, Kenneth French struck Salvador Sanchez while he was carrying his 18-month-old son.
Salvador Sanchez fell to the ground. He sustained a minor head injury. It’s unclear if this injury occurred as a result of his fall to the ground or Kenneth French’s blow.
When Salvador Sanchez regained his footing, he drew a weapon on the French family. The family pleaded with Mr. Sanchez, got between Mr. Sanchez and Kenneth French, and moved away from Mr. Sanchez
Salvador Sanchez, an off-duty LAPD officer, shot all three members of the retreating French family, killing their special needs son Kenneth, and shooting him in the back.
Salvador Sanchez admits he fired his gun and killed or wounded the French family. This was captured on video.
The video below details the story.
The claims and motive
According to the officer’s attorney, David Winslow, Sanchez briefly lost consciousness, and when he awoke, he was on the ground, and his 18-month-old son was next to him screaming. Winslow said the officer “had no choice but to use deadly force.”
Russell and Paola French said they pleaded with Sanchez not to shoot, telling the officer that their son, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was largely nonverbal, was ill.
Store security surveillance tapes showed the victims backing away from Sanchez when he fired.
Apparently, Salvador Sanchez had “no choice” but to shoot a retreating man with his back turned to him being shielded and led away by concerned parents.
Winslow said. “Sal was not acting as a police officer when he was attacked. He was off duty, acting as a father in self-defense and protecting his child.”
Again, he was protecting himself and his child from a retreating attacker who was restrained by two others.
The shooter claims he believed he was shot in the head and that he saw a weapon.
It doesn’t seem likely that a disabled man with his parents was carrying a deadly weapon, and after an exhaustive search that included drones to view the top of shelves and display cases, no weapon—or anything resembling a weapon—was ever found.
It’s unclear how someone would mistakenly believe they were shot in the head, given that there were no wounds or bleeding, which would have been profuse from a head wound.
I speculate that he felt he and his son were threatened, and the blow to his head from falling to the floor impacted his judgment. He didn’t consider his actions or his condition, and as a result, he killed a special needs man and permanently disabled both parents.
Usually, the fraternal order of police will whitewash abuse by one of their own. It’s extremely rare to see any misconduct punished.
Even Derek Chauvin was protected at first. Early police reports described Floyd’s death as a “medical incident” and failed to mention the officers’ use of force.
While it’s possible better people oversee the LAPD, it’s more likely that former officer Sanchez’s conduct was so bad that nobody could even offer a plausible excuse.
In 2020, the Los Angeles Police Commission determined that the shooting was an unjustifiable use of force, leading to Sanchez’s dismissal from the LAPD.
Mike Hestrin, Riverside County District Attorney
In the video above, the Riverside County District Attorney stands by his decision not to bring charges against the man who killed Kenneth French.
By standing by his decision, he fully accepts the consequences for his inaction. I trust the voters in Riverside County will seek a replacement.
I know I will never vote for him again.
Apparently, he presented the case to a grand jury, and they voted not to bring charges.
I can only speculate on this since I was not part of that grand jury, but it must have been the worst presentation of all time.
Did he fail to mention that Kenneth French was retreating and restrained and posed no further danger to Mr. Sanchez?
Perhaps his campaigns are funded by the police union?
Perhaps he is incompetent?
Or perhaps he doesn’t care about the lives of special needs persons?
Whatever his motivations were, his conduct was deplorable, and he demonstrated his lack of fitness for the job he was elected to.
I want to see him lose his next election. I will donate to his opponent’s campaign.
Paola and Russel French
Paola and Russel French
The French family filed a lawsuit against the LAPD, the City of Los Angeles, and Sanchez, alleging negligence and civil rights violations.
In November 2021, a jury awarded the French family $17 million in damages, finding that Sanchez had used excessive and unreasonable force.
A casual reader might conclude that $17 million is a lot of money and provides a measure of justice to the family.
That’s wrong.
If the family were asked, they would undoubtedly say they would rather have their son back and their wounds healed instead of $17 million.
As the parent of a special needs adult just like Kenneth French, I can say that no amount of financial compensation would ever feel like justice.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta
Fortunately, justice is not denied because one man lacks the courage or ability to advocate for the French family.
In August of 2021, the State Attorney’s General Office filed charges and arrested Salvador Sanchez.
“Where there’s reason to believe a crime has been committed, we will seek justice,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “That’s exactly what these charges are about: pursuing justice after an independent and thorough review of the evidence and the law. Ultimately, any loss of life is a tragedy and being licensed to carry a gun doesn’t mean you’re not accountable for how you use it. No matter who you are, nobody is above the law.”
Justice Delayed or denied?
Salvador Sanchez is charged with voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm resulting in great bodily injury.
The trial began in early December 2023 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, California, more than four years after the incident occurred.
As of the time of this writing, the trial has not concluded, no plea deal has been accepted, and no verdict has been returned.
Deputy State Attorney General Mike Murphy told a jury, “This case is about a deadly overreaction.”
Murphy acknowledged that Kenneth French struck Salvador Sanchez, but he noted that Russel French immediately pushed Kenneth back—like I would have—and begged Mr. Sanchez not to hurt his special needs son.
He said he told the gunman: “He’s sick, don’t shoot.”
“The defendant ignored their pleas, ” Murphy said. “Without hesitation and without a warning, the defendant aimed his gun at the French family and pulled the trigger ten times.”
Salvador Sanchez inaccurately discharged ten bullets in a busy Costco in a few seconds. Everyone is fortunate that the stray bullets that struck the food coolers didn’t injure or kill other people. Apparently, Mr. Sanchez’s weapons training did not improve his aim.
“Bang, bang, bang. It was like a warzone,” Russell French testified.
Out of fear of a police coverup—or a District Attorney’s inaction—Russel French stated, “I needed to survive unless this guy becomes a hero. That’s what happens in countries like this.”
Murphy, the prosecutor, asked Paola French if she knew she had been shot.
“I was certain,” she said.
Murphy then asked her if she knew Kenneth French had been shot.
“Killed. That is the reality we live through,” she said.
The courtroom fell silent as Paola French sobbed. Russell French turned to the defense table, looked Salvador Sanchez in the eyes, and exclaimed: “This guy is a cold-blooded murderer, man.”
I’ll let the jury decide that.
I’ve been following this case for four years. There is no way to undo what has been done, but perhaps justice will be served, and Salvador Sanchez will never again be in a position to harm another family touched by special needs—a family like mine.
The Many Reasons I Love My Autistic Son
