LA officer ‘violated policy’ by firing shots that killed teen in dressing room

Bystander Valentina Orellana-Peralta, 14, was killed last year when police officer shot at assault suspect in store

A Los Angeles police officer who killed a 14-year-old girl in a clothing store last December was found to have violated police department policy when he fired multiple shots during an incident at the store, including one that struck and killed the teen.

This week's findings by the city's police commission concern a case that shocked Los Angeles. Valentina Orellana-Peralta was killed on 23 December 2021 while shopping with her mother at a North Hollywood Burlington Coat Factory. The police officer, William Dorsey Jones Jr, opened fire at a man suspected of assaulting customers in the store. One of the bullets he fired struck and killed the teen, who was in a dressing room with her mother.