City of Indio to settle officer-involved shooting for $2M

The City of Indio has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Sammy Villareal, the 18-year-old Thousand Palms man that was shot and killed by an Indio police officer after allegedly stealing a car and ramming it into a police cruiser on October 14, 2015.

The shooting took place in the parking lot of the Christiansen Apartments on Shadow Palm Avenue in Indio.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 confirmed the new information from Indio Spokesman PJ Gagajena on Friday.

Villareal was shot by Indio Police officer Leonardo Perafan. Gagajena said the settlement will be paid by the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, which made the economic decision to settle because of the uncertainty of a jury trial, Gagajena said.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office ruled that the shooting was justified and cleared Officer Perafan of any charges after reviewing the case.

Officials at the district attorney’s office wrote in a letter to the police department, ‘Detective Perafan’s decision to use deadly force was reasonable and done in justifiable self-defense and defense of others, therefore criminal liability does not apply.

Meanwhile, the civil suit was still pending until the settlement was reached.