Man who lost leg in California police shooting wins $5 million, while in prison

Anaheim will pay $5 million to a man who sued the city after losing his leg following a 2020 police shooting that came about after the man broke into a home and tried to run away from police.

Raul Sanchez, now 26 and imprisoned at Kern Valley State Prison, was shot three times while trying to evade arrest, sustaining injuries that eventually resulted in his leg being amputated. Sanchez pleaded guilty last year to a felony burglary charge and misdemeanors connected to the 2020 incident. He was sentenced to two years in state prison.

But in 2021, before his criminal case was settled, Sanchez sued the cities of Anaheim and Buena Park and the Anaheim Police officer who shot him, seeking damages for his injuries.

Mike Lyster, a spokesperson for Anaheim, confirmed the settlement on Tuesday. He said the city stands by the officer’s actions, saying the shooting took place “in what was a difficult and challenging situation.” That echoes the findings of a 2023 investigation by the Orange County District Attorney which found the Anaheim officer was justified in the shooting.

“There are times when it’s in our best interest to settle litigation, and this was one of those times,” Lyster said.

The settlement — which Lyster said will be paid by insurance as part of a risk-pool agreement Anaheim shares with several municipalities — isn’t expected to affect what the city spends on residential services.

“The settlement amount is $5 million, going to Sanchez, who survived his injuries and is in state prison. The settlement reflects a life-changing injury with the amputation of a leg,” Lyster said.

The shooting took place during the afternoon of Nov. 13, 2020. Around 4:15 p.m., Anaheim police responded to a 911 call from a driver who said they were being followed by a man brandishing a weapon from his vehicle.

Police went to a 7-Eleven near Beach Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, close to the city’s border with Buena Park, where an Anaheim officer saw Sanchez walking near the store’s parking lot. When Sanchez saw the officer he started running, according to the District Attorney report.

Police began searching for Sanchez after he was spotted jumping a wall and entering a nearby residential property near Adams Way, in Buena Park.

At the time, Sanchez was already wanted in Buena Park in connection with an assault and a residential burglary in the area, as well as a burglary in Anaheim Hills, where two firearms were stolen. Anaheim Police recognized Sanchez from a flier previously distributed by the Buena Park Police.

As police searched for Sanchez he was seen jumping several fences surrounding neighborhood homes, and Anaheim Police set up a perimeter to contain him. Sanchez was then seen removing a window screen to enter a residence on Adams Way.

As Sanchez began his second run, again hopping several backyard fences, police in a helicopter broadcast Sanchez’s location. They told two Anaheim officers — Kalid Abuhadwan and David Montlavan — that Sanchez was nearing their perimeter position in the backyard of a home on Adams Way, three houses away from the one Sanchez had entered earlier.

Abuhadwan and Montalvan saw Sanchez and asked him to show his hands. Instead, according District Attorney report, Sanchez continued to run to the backyard wall.

Abuhadwan told investigators that he believed Sanchez was trying to line up a visual sight on him and that Sanchez’s left hand had tilted toward his waistband, and that he was going to shoot him. In response to that perceived threat, Abuhadwan fired three rounds at Sanchez who then fell to the ground and was arrested.

UCI Medical Center personnel soon determined that Sanchez had been shot three times.

Officers recovered a cell phone that belonged to a person living at the home Sanchez had entered along with three bullet casings.

Sanchez previously had been arrested for a dozen charges, including criminal threats, resisting and obstructing a police officer and grand theft, according to the District Attorney report.

Officers ultimately determined Sanchez was not the one who brandished his firearm in a vehicle that prompted the 911 call.