Daniel Canizales: Shot 16 Times By South Gate Police in 2019

Security camera footage captures multiple South Gate police officers following Daniel Canizales down Paramount Boulevard moments before they started shooting. (Source)

September 6, 2021 ~ By Shari Rose  

Canizales survived the shooting on Paramount Blvd, but will never walk again. He was never charged with a crime. 

On January 23, 2019, Daniel Canizales was walking down Paramount Boulevard when multiple South Gate police cars pulled over alongside him. According to security camera footage that captured the sidewalk, Canizales immediately walks away from the cars, heading for what appears to be an alleyway.

He quickly returns to the sidewalk and walks slowly up the street as multiple South Gate police officers jump out of their vehicles and point guns at him. Canizales continues to walk slowly with his arms at his side, and is clearly empty-handed. 

Officers begin walking behind him on the sidewalk, and then suddenly start firing. They shot Canizales a total of 16 times. The 23-year-old was unarmed, and somehow survived the shooting.  

South Gate Police Fail To Explain Why They Shot Canizales

At the time of this publishing, neither South Gate police nor the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have explained why officers shot Canizales. Police have even failed to release a public report to justify the shooting. In fact, the only details available from LASD, which was not involved in the shooting, said that police shot Canizales because he didn’t stop walking when South Gate police told him to. They did not say why police targeted Canizales in the first place, nor explain how Canizales was a threat to public safety. He was just walking down the street.  

Daniel Canizales survived the police shooting, but will have to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In April 2019, he filed a lawsuit against the South Gate Police Department. He said at a news conference related to the suit: “It’s just real sad and depressing. I thank God that I’m here.”

His lawyer, Luis Carillo, says that he does not know why police targeted his client in the first place. It does not appear that the officers who shot Canizales faced punishment or reprimanding or any kind. 

This story about Daniel Canizales is part of a larger project that looks at recent police shootings of Latinos in Los Angeles.

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