The young Latino who was shot by police in California was not armed, according to video

The lawyer for the family of Leonel Chavéz, the 24-year-old who died after being shot seven times by a highway patrol officer in Los Angeles, assured in an interview with Noticias Telemundo that Chávez was not armed at the time of the incident. on September 28, according to a video published this Monday.

Attorney Christian Contreras said the video they posted, shot by a business owner, proves it.

“

Leonel had neither a gun nor a knife.

He posed no threat to either the public or the officers.

They had no justification for using this type of deadly force, ”he explained.

The officers, according to him, "escalated from a situation that was nothing more than a two-car collision to the death of Leonel."

Leonel Chávez worked as a security guard Courtesy of Christian Contreras

Chávez was returning from the gym, on his way home, when his Honda Civic crashed into a Chevrolet Camaro at the intersection of Indiana and Medford streets, in the El Sereno neighborhood of East Los Angeles.

Two agents from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrived there on September 28, after receiving a call around 3:15 pm reporting the accident, as reported in the Los Angeles Times.

CHP officer Robert Ruiz confirmed the call and the time of the incident at a news conference last week, but did not offer any details about what caused the shooting or why the officers did so.

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He also did not say if Chávez was armed or if a weapon was found at the scene, according to local television station Fox 11.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also announced last week that he has already launched an investigation into Chávez's death.

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Leonel Chávez was a security guard who lived in the Ramona Gardens development, attended a

community college

and liked to go to the gym.

Contreras said that in fact he and his colleague Humberto Guizar, who is also in charge of the case, met him there.

“He

was a good boy, he didn't have a crime record.

He did not drink or use drugs,

"he explained.

Dalilia Méndez, a witness who spoke to the Los Angeles Times, said she thought Chávez "was a little drunk," which is why he tripped, and that's when officers shot him.

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Contreras spoke with that same witness and asked if she was sure of what she saw.

"He told me he had no evidence," said the lawyer.

“I'm not saying it can't be true, but there is no evidence to support it.

His family also says nothing that none of this was part of his character. "

He added, however, that

the agents dumped Chávez and that before shooting him they had attacked him with a stun gun

(

taser

, in English), according to other witnesses.

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"I want justice, I want them to punish the policeman who killed my son ... and criminal charges," said Maritza Padilla, Chávez's mother, in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.

"I am dead, they gave me great pain."

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Contreras confirmed that they are demanding that the Los Angeles district attorney, George Gascón, file criminal charges against the officers who killed the young man "without justification."

This Saturday, October 9, at 1:00 pm (local time), a demonstration is scheduled in front of the California Highway Patrol department to demand justice for Leonel Chávez.