Officer Houston Tipping died during a training exercise in May. His mother believed he was intentionally attacked.
The mother of a deceased Los Angeles police officer has filed a wrongful death suit against the City of Los Angeles following the death of her son.
Officer Houston Tipping, a 5-year veteran in the department, sustained injuries in a training exercise on May 26 earlier this year, according to a police inquiry report into the officer's death.
Tipping’s mother believes otherwise, claiming that her son was beaten to death during the exercise, which was meant to simulate a mob attack, according to Daily Mail.
The lawsuit alleges that Tipping was repeatedly hit in the head enough that it caused him to bleed, according to Daily Mail.
The mother's attorney, Brian Gage, spoke to Daily Mail about the incident. 'We believe Houston was intentionally attacked. He was tackled.”
The attorney also suggested that the attack may be a form of retaliation due to a sexual assault reported by Tipping that involved several officers that were also present during the incident, reported ABC 7.
"You have a situation where officers are going to be interested in at least scaring Officer Tipping to prevent him from carrying out this investigation, where they could get prosecuted criminally, and or lose their jobs," said Gage, according to ABC 7.
The coroner listed Tipping's death as an accident and that the injuries his mother points out were sustained during measures taken to save his life, reports ABC 7.
An LAPD spokeswoman, Captain Kelly Muniz, said the investigation would look into possible changes that need to be made or lessons that could be learned from the accident, according to the LA Times.
The inquiry report describes Tipping using a grappling maneuver on an officer, who then put Tipping in a headlock. While still holding Tipping’s neck, they both fell to the ground in a way that prevented Tipping from being able to breathe, according to the police.
Officers on site performed CPR to help Tipping breathe while they waited for paramedics, reports police. Once the Los Angeles Fire Department Paramedics arrived, they were able to apply lifesaving measures before transporting him to the hospital, according to police.
Officer Tipping died on May 29 due to the injuries he sustained, report police documents.
LAPD maintains that his death was a tragic accident following their investigation.
