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Soon, Parents of 14-Year-Old Killed in LAPD Shooting to Speak; Parents of 14-Year-Old Killed in LAPD Shooting Speak Out. Aired 1:30- 2p ET

Aired December 28, 2021 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Obviously, they are demanding answers. We heard from other family members. We're now going to hear from her close relatives, again, getting their reaction.

We know that their attorney has said that this was not only a tragedy but they want to see an independent investigation.

The state attorney general's office has announced they are investigating this. That's per this new California law where, any time that there's an officer-involved shooting in the state that it results in the death of an unarmed person, state investigators will review that incident.

So we know that the A.G. will be looking into that. But these -- the lawyer calling on a more robust, independent investigation.

I want to pan over here real quickly and show you what's been set up. This is a picture of Valentina. This is outside LAPD headquarters.

This is where we're expecting this press conference to begin any moment, again, listening to some of these relatives.

As we await for the relatives to come out, I want to play for you the sound from Valentina's uncle who spoke with media in Chile, really speaking out publicly.

Criticizing the Los Angeles Police Department, calling it an agency that's renowned around the world as professional, yet they somehow failed here, and their actions resulted in this tragedy.

Take a listen to this sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO ORELLANA, UNCLE OF VALENTINA ORELLANA-PERALTA (through translation): They took away her American dream. They took this girl's American dream away.

Everyone fled the dressing rooms and, unfortunately, the bullet caught her while she was hugging her mom and praying.

They killed her. They killed her. They are supposed to be the best police department in the world and they shot her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now the LAPD chief has called this tragic and devastating.

It will be reviewed by Internal Affairs at the Los Angeles Police Department. As I mentioned, also by state investigators. We expect to get an update as that investigation progresses.

One thing that the LAPD chief was clear on, he wanted to get this video out very quickly. We're talking just days after that incident. He says for purposes of transparency.

Of course, we expect to hear a short time later that the family wants more. They want answers now. They don't want to wait until some investigation is complete the. They want to know why this happened to their loved one -- Jessica?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Truly heartbreaking.

Josh, stand by. We'll come back to you as soon as that press conference starts.

But in the meantime, let's talk a little bit more about this case with CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Jennifer Rodgers. Also joining us, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson.

Great to so both of you.

We just watched that video together.

Jennifer, looking at that video released by police, what are your initial thoughts on this investigation and how this is playing out?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jessica, obviously, we've heard there are going to be multiple investigations going on.

My initial thoughts, of course, without knowing all of the facts yet without having seen all of the evidence that they are still in the process of getting, is that unlikely we'll see criminal charges here.

Criminal negligence, effectively involuntary manslaughter in California is pretty hard to prove, So I just don't see from what we've seen so far will enough wrongdoing. The recklessness factor I think is missing.

But, of course, we'll see lawsuits and I'm sure, ultimately, some sort of large settlement here.

Because, again, it's hard to tell exactly what happened. There's more to be learned, but the notion of responding to an active shooter but the shooter didn't have a gun, you know.

Had they gone in more slowly, had they seen that he didn't have a weapon, you have to think that there was a possibility that they could have resolved this without gunfire at all.

DEAN: Sure.

Joey, what about you? You're a criminal defense attorney. Do you see criminal charges coming up in this?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, Jessica, good to be with you and Jennifer.

I'm in accord with Jennifer on that issue. I don't see criminality. But I'm very concerned with respect to what occurred.

Now, obviously it's easy to play Monday morning quarterback. The police are in that situation. They have to assess it based upon the blood they saw at the time, based upon the call that informed their judgment with respect to whether there was an active shooter.

They are in a very difficult situation. And based, of course, on the person who was there attacking people with the lock and just acting in a way that puts others in danger.

Having said that, what I want to know is, in assessing this, could this life, right, with regard to both lives, right, particularly the one, the 14-year-old who was shot in her chest getting a dress, right, could that life have been saved?

Did there need to be the shooting? Was anyone in immediate fear of death or serious bodily injury at the time of the shooting? Could the de-escalation tactics have been used? Were there other reasonable alternatives?

So, again, these are all questions I have. I don't have the answer to them at this time.

But if we can improve tactically, perhaps, we can assess what could be done and what strategically could have been, if anything better, I think that's where we need to be.

Because this should never happen when you're shopping for a dress and you end up dead. It's just horrifying.

DEAN: Right, right. It is.

Jennifer, the California attorney general's office and the California Department of Justice are investigating this shooting.

[13:35:00]

As they go through that, walk us through what they are going to be looking at in particular.

RODGERS: Well, they will, of course, be gathering all the evidence that they can gather, interviewing all the witnesses, looking at the surveillance footage, all of the body cam footage that they can get their hands on.

And then their job is to assess criminal liability, whether anybody can be charged with a crime.

So they will be looking at the criminal statutes and thinking about whether they can meet those elements.

They are not thinking about civil liability. They are not thinking necessarily about tactical issues of the sort that Joey was talking about.

You know, the police department and their Internal Affairs bureau really should be digging into that issue as well as the office of the inspector general.

Those are the folks who need to look at the same evidence and think about whether there's policies that can be changed or policies perhaps that weren't being followed that need to be enforced that can change the way things happen in the future.

But the folks at the A.G.'s office will be looking solely at the criminal liability here.

DEAN: Got it.

Jennifer Rodgers and Joey Jackson, thank you so much. We sure do appreciate your time.

Of course, we'll keep an eye on that press conference, and we'll bring it to you as it happens.

In the meantime, still to come this afternoon, as 2021 wraps up, how did President Biden do in his first year in office? CNN's presidential historian is here with a report card. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:52]

DEAN: And we are standing by live for this press conference. You're looking at live picture right now in Los Angeles.

We're going to hear from the family of 14-year-old are Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was shot in the chest by a stray bullet from the Los Angeles police while she was shopping for a dress over the weekend.

I want to go to our colleague, CNN security correspondent, Josh Campbell. We're not going to see Josh, but we can hear his voice.

Josh, walk us through what we're expecting to hear from the family. It looks like they are approaching the podium here momentarily.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): That's right, Jessica. We have family members of Valentina as well as attorney, Ben Crump. We're expecting a press conference here momentarily.

I'm speaking quietly because this has turned into somewhat of a memorial. You can see they have brought pictures here of this young girl. There are flowers, posters, calling for justice for Valentina.

And as I mentioned, we're standing outside of LAPD headquarters. This agency, obviously, at the center of so many questions that this family has.

They are demanding answers after this incident last week involving the fatal shooting of this 14-year-old girl. We're expecting to hear directly from the family momentarily as well as the attorney.

Now, there are different investigations that are under way. LAPD Internal Affairs, the state has launched an investigation, but Crump has said that he wants to see an independent investigation as well in order to try to get to exactly what transpired.

We know that those officers were responding to that department store, reports of shorts fired after a suspect had assaulted different customers inside that store.

But after engaging the suspect, one of the officers, a round from his rifle penetrated a wall where young Valentina was alongside her mother. That bullet obviously entering her. The coroner here says the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest.

Obviously, just clearly a tragedy. And now we're seeing up close. You know, yesterday we got that video. You can see the officer's perspective.

We're now going to hear a different perspective. We expect to hear from these family members about what the mother was going through, more about this young -- this young girl, 14 years old, who had recently come to America.

Her uncle said that she had come here seeking a better life. And now, obviously, ending in tragedy just two days before Christmas, shot and killed by a stray bullet from one of those officers.

Again, we expect them here to come to the mics in just a second. You can see Ben Crump in the middle. He's holding hands with some of Valentina's family members.

He should be coming to the microphones in just a second. They are getting some of the pictures set up here.

There's really a lot of questions that the family has about this agency, about headquarters, about the tactics of these officers.

That's been a key question here about why an officer would use a high- powered rifle inside a location like a department store. And people asking questions about whether that officer considered what was beyond his target before opening fire.

It's clear that these police officers were trying to save lives. They had received reports of an active shooter in that building. But of course, a lot of scrutiny now on this agency with the tactics of that officer.

Let's listen in to this press conference. This is Ben Crump.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY: Erica, if you want to come over here. Right behind Erica there.

(CROSSTALK)

OK.

Good morning. I'm Attorney Ben Crump, along with Attorney Chris O'Neal. We have the pleasure of working with a great law firm, Panish Shea & Boyle, and Ravipudi, in representing some very special people who you're going to hear from today.

[13:45:04]

Also present with us is Attorney Rahul Ravipudi as well as Attorney Paul Trainor as well as Attorney Erica Contreras, and a whole team that are dedicated to making sure that we get justice for Valentina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.

(APPLAUSE)

CRUMP: You have her Aunt Esther Carr here. And you also have her parents, who you're going to hear from, Mr. Juan Pablo, who flew in from Chile. And you're going to hear from her mother, Soledad, who was with her praying the moment she was hit with the bullet.

Today, the parents wanted to come and tell the world who their daughter Valentina was.

We will get to talk later about what things could have been done to prevent this innocent princess from being taken from this earth far too soon.

They want you to know that Valentina was beautiful, intelligent, and had the whole word ahead of her. She made exceptional grades at an English-speaking school even though English was not her native tongue.

She had dreams. Her father wanted people to know about her dreams. She dreamed of being an engineer, working in technology, helping build robots to make the world a better place.

She had dreams to go to a Los Angeles Lakers game with her father and see LeBron James. They talked about one day they were going to go to a Laker game.

But her most important dream, as all of her family members have articulated, was to become an American citizen. And tragically, that will never happen.

She was just talking to her mother the day as they were going shopping, how proud she was that she had passed a math and the physics exam. And her principal even contacted the parents to talk about how special she was.

And we will share that with you because never should this 14-year-old little girl end up as collateral damage at a shopping plaza.

They came to America from Chile to get away from violence and injustice to have a better life in America. As her Aunt Esther says, they can't believe this happened in America.

And so her mother and father are going to tell you from their heart as best they can who she was, that her life mattered.

Erica is going to translate today. They are going to speak in Spanish, and Erica will translate in English.

And this is very emotional, and so, please, bear with them as they bare their heart at this holiday season.

[13:50:06]

And right now you're going to hear from an incredible lawyer, but an incredible human being who I'm proud to work with, representing this family, Attorney Rahul Ravipudi.

RAHUL RAVIPUDI, ATTORNEY: Thank you, Ben.

Just very briefly, Erica Contreras, Rahul Ravipudi. We have the privilege and honor of representing the family.

And today is not about what's going to happen next. Today is about what the family is going through and hearing from mom and dad right now about that.

As the days go on, you'll hear from Ben Crump, me, Paul Trainor, Erica Contreras and others on the legal team about all of the next steps.

Thank you.

CRUMP: Thank you, Attorney Ravipudi.

Now you're going to hear from her father, who was like a best friend to his daughter, his only biological child, Mr. Juan Pablo. And they wrote down some notes because it's just too emotional.

And, Erica, if you want to.

ERICA CONTRERAS, ATTORNEY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

CRUMP: Take the mask off when you speak.

CONTRERAS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

JUAN PABLO ORELLANA LARENAS, FATHER OF VALENTINA ORELLANA-PERALTA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DEAN: And you are listening to the father of the 14-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet as Los Angeles police went into a store out there. She was trying on a dress. That is her father, Juan Pablo.

We are going to wait on the translation to English there, and we'll, of course, bring that to you once we get that.

In the meantime, I want to bring back in our CNN legal analysts, Jennifer Rodgers and Joey Jackson, who are standing by, who have walked through this case a little bit with us as well.

We know, Joey, that this video was released today from the Los Angeles Police Department. Our colleague, Josh Campbell, saying they wanted to get it out there quickly for transparency.

But we are listening and looking at this father with utter anguish on his face. It is inconceivable to take your daughter to try on a dress and for her to end up dead at the end of that.

What are you expecting as we hear from this family and as the LAPD and also the authorities move through the investigation in this case?

JACKSON: So, Jessica, you put it absolutely right. It's inconceivable.

From the family's perspective, they're heartbroken. And I think what you only have, in our system, right, is you have, from a civil perspective, the compensation and monetary damages.

But there's a couple of components. The first component is, how do we get better? What do we learn? Tactically, what could have been done better to prevent this?

Should the officer, obviously, not having the ability to see through the wall, the duty -- the risk perceived is the duty to find. What does that mean?

Is it foreseeable in the event that you're in any type of shopping, Burlington Coat Factory or elsewhere, is there a probability that a stray bullet, right, there could be a stray bullet and someone could really, you know, befall an injury as a result of that?.

Could you have tactically acted better? Could there have been de- escalation techniques that did not amount to lethal force at the outset?

I think the family, as we're looking at this press conference, is really going through all of that and saying, did this really need to happen?

[13:55:01]

So to your question, I think we'll see a civil lawsuit. And that civil lawsuit will be predicated on, yes, money for the family. But it also will be predicated upon improvements that could be made going forward.

In addition to that, Jessica, obviously, there's going to be that attorney general criminal investigation.

I don't see -- at least initially, any criminal liability or responsibility at all. Even predicated upon carelessness or negligence of the officers.

They're in an impossible position. And I don't want to, again, second guess or Monday morning quarterback them.

But the issue will be, in that impossible position, could they have done anything better to preserve life?

And I think that will be the focus with respect to the tactical issues involved, the civil issues involved, and the criminal issues involved to assess whether or not there was any criminality.

And again, to this point, I do not see that that will, you know, come out of this. I just see a civil component. And that's what we're addressing here with this heartbroken and devastated family.

DEAN: Right.

And, Jennifer, I'm curious, from your perspective, this family certainly is going to ask, as Joey said, it seems likely there's going to be a civil lawsuit, but also to have changes made, that the best outcome here is to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Who will be in charge of making sure that happens? And what kind of pressure can they put on the Los Angeles Police Department to ensure that policies are maybe changed or rethought as they move forward?

RODGERS: That's a great question, Jessica, because, often, families demand changes, and they often don't get those changes.

We've actually entered a better spot than we used to be in. It used to be that they had to sue and only through the court's discovery would we learn about policy problems and issues with these tactical solutions.

Now, there's actually more transparency. You know, LAPD and other police departments, governments, have gotten better about releasing information sooner so that's a plus.

But the family can demand changes if they enter into a civil settlement. They can demand action as part of that. And if it's written in, it will be binding on the city and, therefore, the LAPD. So that's one way.

It's also just public pressure. I mean, going out today and keeping the pressure on the public eye through the media and elsewhere helps to pressure governments to make changes and have those changes stick.

And if this happens again, then you'll see a problem with violating policies, which could lead to greater liability.

So, there are different avenues. And this is the first step that we're seeing today in the press conference. And I expect to keep hearing from them about this issue.

DEAN: Right.

And I want to listen in. I think we're getting the translation now. Let's take a listen.

CONTRERAS: -- by the loss of his daughter.

When he was phoned by his wife and informed on the 23rd that his daughter was shot and killed while they were shopping at the shopping center, he was in shock. And to find out later that it was the bullet of a police officer is the devastating.

He had made plans to come to the United States to be with his daughter for Christmas. He had purchased gifts for her Christmas, and now he -- those gifts are now going to be brought to her grave because she's gone.

His heart is just torn out. His daughter was very excited about the fact that she had done well in school, had gotten good grades, and they were going to celebrate that together. And now they're not going to be able to do that.

Also, she had great dreams of being an American citizen. She wanted to be here in the United States because this was the land of opportunity, and she was excited about that.

They were going to go see the Lakers. Dad's a big fan of the Lakers. And they had planned to go see the Lakers together. And that's never going to happen now.

And he found out that Valentina had ordered -- asked for a skateboard for Christmas. And the skateboard arrived through Amazon on the 24th, the day after her death.

And now it's something that she will never use. And he will have to take it to the grave so she can skate with the angels.

The only thing that he has left for him now is to seek justice for his daughter. He will not rest until justice for his daughter is served, and he promised her that.

And all that's left for him, his only solace, is to bury his daughter now. While other families are home with their families together for Christmas and New Year's, he now has an empty seat and an empty home.

[14:00:00]

DEAN: Just heartbreaking details there, again, from the 14-year-old's father, Juan Pablo, about the loss of his daughter when she was shot by a stray bullet from the Los Angeles Police Department.