A judge rejects a claim that an LAPD officer was killed over a sexual assault report

A judge has ruled against the parents of a Los Angeles police officer who sued the city, alleging the death of their son during a 2022 training session for the department was in retaliation for an investigation into an officer accused of sexual harassment.

After deliberating for nearly three days, a jury found Wednesday that the city was not responsible for the death of Houston Tipping, and that his family failed to prove that he was killed in an attempt to silence him. The decision put a coda in a long-running legal case that has raised questions about safety standards during police training.

A spokeswoman for the LAPD declined to comment on the decision. The city attorney’s office did not immediately respond to The Times’ inquiry.

Attorney Brad Gage, who represented the police officer’s mother, said they were disappointed after the two-week trial and planned to appeal the case.

“This was a tragedy when Houston was paralyzed, a tragedy when he was killed and a tragedy with the decision today,” Gage said. “Lawyers are able to go to the other side, but for the families, all this is causing them pain twice.”

Tipping died three days after suffering a spinal cord injury during training at the Elysian Park police academy on May 26, 2022. Then-Police Chief Michel Moore called it a “freak occurrence.”

Later that year, his mother and father sued the city for wrongful death, alleging that Tipping was beaten by other officers in an exercise intended to “impersonate a mob.” The cases were eventually consolidated into one.

In his closing remarks, City Deputy Atty. Steve McGuire argued that Tipping’s death was a tragic accident. He accused Tipping’s parents’ attorneys of connecting the dots by suggesting that LAPD officer David Cuellar, a defendant in the case, and other associates had conspired to get back at Tipping by making a report about the alleged sexual abuse.

Lawyers for Tipping’s parents said later that they were looking for a woman who signed an oath that she was raped by a police officer.

McGuire told jurors there was no evidence Cuellar ever knew Tipping had made the report. Cuellar testified, however, that he was at least aware of the woman’s allegations.

McGuire said LAPD investigators followed up on the alleged assault but were unable to make contact with the woman.

Part of the blame for the spinal cord injury lay with Tipping, who chose not to wear a helmet before participating in practice, McGuire said.

According to the lawsuit, Cuellar and Tipping signed up for training to teach bike cops how to deal with unruly people. The class had developed such a reputation for violence that some officers called it the “Fight Club,” Gage said.

Gage said the department did not comply with certain security regulations that required the presence of certified trainers.

An internal LAPD report into Tipping’s death found that Tipping and other officers who participated in the training program followed standards set by the federal agency.

The LAPD report called for some changes to “enhance future training,” but said it did not provide any evidence to support allegations made by Tipping’s mother that other officers imitated the mob and beat Tipping during the training. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died.

The report’s findings are consistent with an autopsy, which found that he died accidentally due to spinal cord injuries.

During his opening remarks, Gage described Tipping as a “letter officer” who joined the force to make a difference. The lawyer said Tipping was an outgoing person and the son of both his parents. He worked in his father’s construction business and worked as an assistant to his mother, often stopping by the trailer to fix curtains or floors while he went to school to become a physician’s assistant.

In 2021, according to the lawsuit, he responded to the hospital and spoke with a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted. A detective was eventually assigned to the case. But Gage argued that the woman later confided in Tipping that one of her attackers was a police officer – something she said she withheld during their first interview for fear of retaliation.

Tipping reported the allegations to the department, which made him an informant and gave him some protection, Gage said.

Tipping’s mother, Shirley Huffman, testified that her son told her at the time in a private conversation that not all police officers were good. He also explained his growing disillusionment with the department, saying that before his death he had considered going to work for the federal Department of Justice investigating “bad police officers.”

Previously, Cuellar denied hearing about these allegations before Tipping’s death, but in witness papers he admitted that he had been informed about them at that time.

“In May, this man here, for four days, stood patiently waiting for his turn,” Gage told jurors during his closing arguments, pointing to Cuellar. “When police officer Houston Tipping signs that he will be a suspect, he immediately signs up to face him.”

Attorney Mark Geragos, who represented Tipping’s father, accused the department of hiding important evidence, such as the training stick used during the incident. He joked that LAPD stands for “Lost and Presumed Destroyed.”