LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Virginia Keeny has ordered two officers to face a civil suit jury trial in Jan. 2026 for the Jan. 2023 shooting in Huntington Park, reported The Root.
Anthony Lowe (36) was reportedly shot 11 times and killed by Officers Paul Munoz and Joshua Volasgis, detailed The Root.
Conflicting accounts of the incident according to The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee noted officers applied unnecessary lethal force that directly caused Lowe’s death.
According to The Root, Judge Keeny ruled that based on the evidence presented by the lawsuit filed by Lowe’s family, it did not “clearly show” the man allegedly threatening the officers with a knife as he “waddled” away from them on the sidewalk.
Prior to the Jan. 2023 incident, Lowe already lost his legs to amputation after a run-in with Texas police in 2022, according to ABC7
A year later, in Jan. 2023, Officers Munoz and Volasgis responded to “a report of a stabbing by a suspect in a wheelchair,” according to the facts noted in the suit.
The Root further detailed that the officers claimed Lowe had a 12-inch butcher knife held “in their direction” and then tased him twice before shooting him 11 times on the scene.
Video footage from a bystander provided by the lawsuit, however, showcased a different story, with screenshots of the altercation provided by The Root.
Within the footage, “one officer grabbed Lowe’s wheelchair and dumped him onto the sidewalk,” writes The Root.
Judge Keeny quickly noted the knife “fell by” Lowe’s side, contrary to the initial recounting of the man pointing the knife, according to the lawsuit.
Judge Keeny also wrote that when Lowe “moved away,” that was when the tasers were deployed, according to Sacramento Bee.
The video footage recorded the Jan. 2022 altercation until it cut off after shots began ringing.
“The video reflects that officers shot Lowe within seconds of arriving on the scene of the incident, and it shows no measured attempt at de-escalation,” Judge Keeny concluded, ultimately ruling in the Lowe family’s favor.
Since the Jan. 2023 incident, the officers were “placed on leave but returned to full duty,” based on The Root’s reports.
The jury trial will proceed at the start of 2026, The Root reported.
