Nothing like the Liberal Press to omit the fact the father, Raul Pena was a illegal alien from El Salvador previously deported for cocaine posession. Illegal re-entry is a felony.

Judge dismisses suit filed by mother of toddler killed by LAPD bullet [Updated]
11:08 AM | August 3, 2009

In a victory for the Los Angeles Police Department, a judge this morning threw out a lawsuit filed against the city by the mother of a 19-month-old toddler killed by a bullet fired by SWAT officers during an attempted hostage rescue in 2005.

The case before L.A. Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu was set to go to the jury this week after SWAT officers and police experts completed their testimony.

But Treu this morning granted the city's motion to dismiss the case, saying a jury could reach only one conclusion: that the officers acted reasonably.

Attorneys for Lorena Lopez, mother of 1 1/2-year-old Suzie Pena, argued in the trial that officers should have retreated and negotiated further with Raul Pena, who was delirious on alcohol and cocaine and holding his daughter hostage in the office of his car dealership on July 10, 2005.

The city contended that officers attempted the rescue in the best tactical way possible, and that the baby's father was the only one to blame for her death because he repeatedly held her as a shield during the hours-long standoff.

[Updated at 11:22 a.m. City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, who was being interviewed by The Times when a deputy city attorney came into his office announce the news, jumped from his chair with a cheer and high-fived the lawyer. Millions of city dollars had been in jeopardy, he said.

“This is a case where nobody wins except the citizens, because no one should have been sued in this case,â€