Innocent bystander shot by police is one of dozens of cases nationwide, CBS News investigation finds

When police responded to a Chandler, Arizona, neighborhood for a call about a man armed with a gun making threats, Mark Trujillo said he went outside to warn officers his wife and young children were inside their home next door. What happened next would change his life forever. 

Body camera and Ring camera footage obtained by CBS News show a second-by-second account. Officers on one end of the street yelled for the neighbor to drop his gun and then opened fire on him. Officers on the other end never got the message the suspect was down.

“I remember making a gesture with my hand, but saying, ‘you’re gonna hit my house,’ and that’s it,” Trujillo told CBS News.

Five seconds later, Trujillo was also hit — shot by an officer who, according to Chandler Police, mistook Trujillo for the suspect.

“We have an innocent,” one officer can be heard saying on the bodycam footage. 

Trujillo’s spine was severed. The father of five will never walk again.

“I fell right there and my children and my wife saw me from that door. I was laying right here yelling for help,” he said.

Dozens of cases around the country

A CBS News review of police records, body camera footage, court documents and local news reports from around the country found more than 50 cases since 2015 of innocent bystanders shot by police. Chaotic bodycam footage from some of the incidents shows the collateral damage when bystanders are caught in the crossfire. 

Law enforcement watchdogs told CBS News the number of cases is likely higher. There’s no organization officially tracking this issue.

“The Department of Justice, our federal government, should be keeping track of these stats,” attorney Benjamin Taylor, who represents Mark Trujillo, said.

Aside from the trauma, injury or death of a loved one, in most if not all cases families have no path to get financial assistance to cover medical or funeral bills.

Because of the surgeries and medical care he’s needed, along with lost wages, Trujillo filed a lawsuit against the Chandler Police Department and city, demanding $50 million.

Taylor told CBS News these cases are hard to win because officers are covered by what’s known as qualified immunity, which can shield government employees from civil lawsuits.

In legal filings, attorneys for the city of Chandler and its police department argue the officers were doing their jobs and were not negligent. The litigation is ongoing and has not been resolved yet.

The officers in Trujillo’s case were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. CBS News reached out to the Chandler Police Department to request an interview with the chief about this case. A spokesperson said that because of the lawsuit, they are not granting interviews. 

Lawsuits face challenges

The Fraternal Order of Police has pushed to have qualified immunity put into law, instead of relying on Supreme Court precedent.

“This doctrine is especially important to law enforcement officers, who need this protection to perform discretionary functions fundamental to law enforcement and public safety,” the group’s president, Patrick Yoes, wrote to Congress this year.

In May, a California family was unable to seek recourse after a Los Angeles jury found the LAPD was not liable for an officer’s fatal shooting of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta. The girl was in a changing room behind a wall inside a Burlington Coat Factory store when officers opened fire at a suspect in 2021. Her father filed the wrongful death lawsuit. 

The family’s attorney called the case “the most devastating loss” of his career.

In interviews with police officers across the country, many told CBS News the threat of being sued for using their firearms in the line of duty makes it more difficult to do their jobs. There is also genuine concern in the law enforcement community about how this may impact the ability to recruit new officers. 

“We understand that there are good officers out there, but when an officer makes a mistake, they need to be held accountable for their actions,” Taylor said.