Alfonso Limon: Family Awarded $6.7 Million After Police Mistake Man For Suspect, Shoot Him 20 Times

The family of Alfonso Limon has been awarded $6.7 million by the city of Oxnard after police shot the man close to 20 times after mistaking him for a suspect.

The judgment was the largest amount ever paid by the city in a wrongful death case, making headlines across the nation.

Limon’s case was held up as an example of the increasingly violent overreach by police officers. Limon, 21, was walking with his brother after a workout at Pacifica High School when Oxnard police confronted the pair, believing they were suspects from a violent traffic stop nearby.

Police opened fire, and Alfonso Limon was shot between 16 and 21 times, family attorney Adam Shea said.

“Police never told us anything. Once the shooting started we were on our own from there,” said Gerardo Limon.

Gerardo added that he has lived with the guilt of not being able to help his brother that night.

Though the family was awarded $6.7 million, they said money was never important and will not bring back their lost loved one.

“He was such a loving person, we miss him every day and nothing will every replace him,” said Alfonso Limon’s sister, Rebecca Limon.

The family’s settlement involved more than just money. Officers in the Oxnard Police Department will now be required to wear body-mounted cameras and audio recorders, and all patrol cars must have mounted cameras as well.

“Our hope is that the changes that the Limon family demanded the police department make as part of this settlement will prevent innocent people from being killed or harmed in the future,” their attorney, Tom Schultz, said in a statement. “This case wasn’t about money. It was about justice for Alfonso.”

The city of Oxnard will also declare October 13 Anti-Violence Day, and has placed a plaque in the spot where Alfonso Limon was killed, in his memory.