The Los Angeles cop who accidentally shot a teenage girl dead at a Burlington store in Hollywood while trying to take down a suspect assaulting customers is reportedly 'shattered' by the incident.
William Dorsey Jones Jr, 42, had worked to build relationships between the police force and the community, founding the 'Officers for Change' at-risk youth profit, and sharing photos of him delivering gifts to children and coaching high school football teams.
But Jones, who has served in the LAPD for more than 10 years, is now facing backlash for shooting 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta while she hid inside a dressing room with her mother on December 23, his lawyer confirmed to The New York Times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
He is now on administrative leave, and his lawyer, Leslie Wilcox, told the Mercury News: 'This is something he says that he will be living with every day for the rest of his life. He is trying to figure out a process to keep moving forward when he knows her family can't.
'He's just shattered,' she said, adding that Jones 'was acting the way he was trained to do' and that it has 'been hard for him to see it as it is being portrayed.'
William Dorsey Jones Jr, 42, has served in the LAPD for more than 10 year. His lawyer confirmed Jones is the officer who shot 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, right, while she hid inside a dressing room with her mother on December 23
Orellana-Peralta was struck by a bullet that went through the drywall of the dressing room she was hiding inside as cops stormed a Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood to confront a man who was swinging a bike lock at women.
She was struck in the chest while shopping for a quinceñera dress just two days before Christmas.
The LAPD on Monday released a heavily edited package of surveillance and police body camera footage, which captured her final moments.
In bodycam video, armed officers enter the store and approach Daniel Elena-Lopez, 24, suspected of attacking two women.
One officer with a rifle pushes to the front of the pack as the cops go through the store in formation. Other officers repeat 'slow down' and 'slow it down' as the officer with the rifle moves forward.
'She's bleeding!' an officer shouts when they find a victim of a brutal beating, crawling on the blood-stained floor. The suspect was on the other side of the aisle.
'Hold up! Hold up, Jones! Hold up! Hold up! another officer screams just before three shots ring out.
The officer holding the rifle pulled the trigger, police said.
Elena-Lopez collapsed on the floor, mortally wounded. In the background of the footage, Valentina's mother can be heard screaming in the dressing room beside her dying daughter.
Capt. Stacy Spell said Orellana-Peralta was 'struck by a round which skipped off the floor and entered the dressing room wall.'
An attorney for the family, Rahul Ravipudi, said it was obvious from the video that the shooting was an unreasonable use of force and a breach of policy.
'It's heartbreaking,' Ravipudi told the Mercury News. 'It sounds likes [Jones] is certainly not taking accountability or responsibility.'
Body camera footage from the five officers closest to Jones, who fired three shots at Daniel Elena-Lopez, hitting Peralta in the process, were also shared in the LAPD press package
Pictured is Jones' view of the suspect, Daniel Elena-Lopez, who had just beaten a bloodied, unidentified woman on the floor with a bike lock. Directly behind the suspect is the dressing room where Peralta and her mother were hiding as the chaos unfolded
Daniel Elena-Lopez, 24, can be seen laid out on the ground after he was shot by the Los Angeles Police Department officer. Behind him, Valentina Orellana Peralta, 14, was hiding in a dressing room with her mother
Valentina Orellana Peralta, 14, was shopping for a quinceñera gown with her mother at this Burlington store in North Hollywood on December 23 when she was struck by cop's stray bullet
Witnesses had called 911 dispatchers and wrongly reported that Elena-Lopez was armed, which Tom Saggau, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Protective League - the union representing Jones - said impacted Jones' response.
'You're trained to enter the facility and try to eliminate the threat so that more people aren't shot. That's the mindset as they're responding to that call,' Saggau told The Daily Beast.
'This is somebody who, four days ago, everybody in our country would be wanting to hire,' he added.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said a 'thorough, complete and transparent' investigation was underway. The California Attorney General's Office and California Department of Justice are conducting separate investigations that will determine Jones' future in the force.
Jones reportedly opened the 'Officers for change' at-risk youth profit, and showcased in a since-removed website his community engagement
Records show Jones opened 'Officers for Change' as a '501(c)(3) nonprofit org. on a mission to positively impact the lives of those living in At-Risk & Low Income
