Estate of Manuel Jaminez Chum v. City of Los Angeles

MEMORANDUM

The Estate of Manuel Jaminez Chum appeals from the district court’s judgment upon a jury verdict in favor of the City of Los Angeles and LAPD Officer Frank Hernandez. Hernandez shot and killed Chum as he allegedly advanced holding a raised knife. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

First, Chum’s estate argues that the district court abused its discretion by admitting testimony that, before the police arrived, Chum grabbed a pregnant woman by the arm and wielded a knife as if he were going to stab her in the stomach. That testimony corroborated Hernandez’s account that (1) he arrived on the scene after a civilian told him that a man down the street was attempting to stab a woman with a knife, and (2) he observed Chum pulling a woman by the arm and holding a knife in his other hand. Because the challenged testimony made Hernandez’s account more probable, the testimony was relevant, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting it. See Boyd v. City & Cnty. of S.F., 576 F.3d 938, 943-45 (9th Cir.2009).

Second, Chum’s estate argues that the district court abused its discretion by admitting witness testimony that illegal swap…