SANTA ANA, CALIF., May 14, 2026 — The family of Victor Lopez, shot in the back by Santa Ana Police following a minor traffic stop, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Santa Ana and the as-yet unnamed officer involved in his death.
Lopez, 18, was unarmed and surrendering to Santa Ana police when he was killed inside a parking garage on Jan. 29, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Lopez’s child and family. The lawsuit was filed May 8 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
“Victor Lopez was 18 years old, unarmed and surrendering when a Santa Ana police officer shot him in the back. That is not public safety, it’s police terror,” said civil rights attorney Adante Pointer, of Oakland-based Pointer and Buelna, Lawyers For The People. “Police officers are trained to recognize surrender. Our Constitution does not allow officers to execute someone who is trying to submit to their authority.”
“Victor Lopez did what officers say they want people to do. He stopped. He got out. He raised his hands. He began lowering himself to the ground. He should have been taken into custody, not shot in the back,” said civil rights attorney Bryan Harrison, of Pasadena-based Harrison Kristopher.
Lopez, 18, was driving with his toddler son and the child’s mother about 10:30 p.m., heading home to the apartment they shared with his parents. At one point, a Santa Ana Police officer driving in the opposite direction shined a spotlight into the passenger side of Lopez’ car but did not attempt a traffic stop.
As the family neared their home, a Santa Ana Police vehicle drove up behind them, activated its emergency lights and followed their car into the garage of the family’s apartment complex, in the 400 block of East 4th Street. Lopez stopped his car. Lopez tripped as he was exiting the car and fell to the ground. A gun dropped to the pavement.
Lopez continued following the officer’s orders. He “raised both hands above his head, faced the officer, and then turned his back to the officer and began lowering himself toward the ground in an unmistakable act of surrender,” the lawsuit states.
As Lopez was moving to lay on the garage floor and submit to custody, the officer fired three rounds into the back of the unarmed man, the lawsuit states.
Lopez’s girlfriend and their one-year-old son, sitting in the car, watched him bleed to death for about 10 minutes until paramedics arrived, while the officer made no moves to render first aid, according to the lawsuit. Lopez died of his wounds. Following the shooting Santa Ana Police issued a statement claiming Lopez was reaching for the gun, but the lawsuit says that evidence and witness testimony will show that’s not true.
“We live in a time when police departments try to shape the narrative by issuing statements before releasing or even reviewing the evidence,” Pointer said. “His son will need answers, and Victor’s family should not be left with the police department’s story when physical evidence and witnesses tell us the opposite: that an unarmed man was surrendering when he was shot in the back.”
“Where’s the transparency? Name the officer. Release the officer’s statement. What are they hiding?” Harrison said. “Deadly force is not supposed to be used against an unarmed person with his hands raised and his back turned.”
About Pointer & Buelna, LLP, Lawyers for the People: Civil rights attorneys Adanté Pointer and Patrick Buelna started their law firm to give people a chance against large institutions like the police, government, corporations and insurance companies. They have secured many of the largest trial verdicts and settlements in these practice areas.