Houston Tipping: LAPD officer, 32, 'beaten to death' during brutal training exercise
An officer was allegedly "beaten to death" during a training exercise meant to "simulate a mob attack". The Los Angeles Police Department has now been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by the victim's mother, Shirley Huffman, alleges that Officer Houston Tipping was "repeatedly struck in the head severely enough that he bled" during a training activity.
Tipping, 32, suffered multiple breaks in his neck and suffered a "catastrophic spinal injury", which led to his death, according to the suit. Multiple injuries on his body also required stitches. The department said that the officer was injured while "grappling" with another officer during the training. It referred to Tipping's death as a "horrible accident". No one has been arrested or charged over his death at present.
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Tipping was laid to rest last week. The five-year LAPD veteran's funeral was attended by the LAPD police chief Michel Moore, department leaders and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Two days after his funeral, his mother filed the complaint against the city, accusing it of wrongful death, assault and battery and civil rights violations.
Moore knelt before Tipping’s parents at his funeral and offered them folded American flag. "Chief Moore stated that Officer Tipping impressed his peers with a ‘willingness to go the extra mile to make the world a better place,’” Huffman stated. "Yet, that wasn’t enough to avoid other officers paralyzing him and eventually killing him in violation of law, and his civil rights.”
According to Huffman, the training exercise that resulted in Tipping's death "had already been questioned" before. Bradley Gage, Huffman's attorney, claimed that the allegations in the lawsuit are based on interviews conducted with witnesses and individuals aware of the situation. Huffman's claim calls for unspecified financial compensation, as well as punitive damages from the city. It also demands that the city preserve all evidence in the matter, including “videos of the entire training exercise and actions taken against Officer Tipping.”
An investigation has been launched into the incident by the department, which said it seeks to determine if "there are any changes that need to be made" to prevent such tragedies in the future. "It is tragic and we're all saddened by his loss," LAPD spokeswoman Capt Kelly Muniz told The Los Angeles Times.
According to the Los Angeles Police Protective League, Tipping patrolled around the Devonshire neighborhood and "loved serving as a police officer", the Daily Mail reported. It also said that he will be remembered "for how he loved and made people laugh". Moore revealed last month that Tipping was also an organ donor, and that his "selflessness" saved lives. Tipping is survived by his parents, Richard and Shirley, his stepfather Bob, siblings Kat and Tyler, and his girlfriend Britney.
