Last month a mistrial was declared after jurors in
State prosecutors decided against a retrial “after considering a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the input of the surviving victims and feedback from the trial jury,” the
Sanchez and his family “feel humbled and grateful to God for the outcome,” his lawyer,
"The stress on the Sanchez family, emotionally as well as financially, has been enormous,” Schwartz said.
Sanchez was off duty and holding his young son in his arms when French knocked him to the ground from behind at the
French was nonverbal and had recently been taken off unspecified medication due to other health issues, the family’s lawyer had said, adding that the change may have affected his behavior that night. French’s family believes he suffered from schizophrenia.
While Sanchez told investigators he believed French had a gun and that his life was in danger, authorities said French was not armed and was moving away from Sanchez when the officer began shooting.
The state attorney general filed charges of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm against Sanchez in 2021 after a
Sanchez was a seven-year veteran of the
A federal jury awarded
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