A Rare Test of Police Oversight – LAPD Officers Face Possible Decertification

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers involved in a fatal South Central Los Angeles shooting are facing the possible loss of their police certifications, a move that could permanently end their ability to work in law enforcement in California. The case is shaping up to be one of the most significant early tests of Senate Bill 2, a state law designed to strengthen police accountability through decertification.

The officers, Jose Zavala and Julio Quintanilla, shot and killed 22-year-old Margarito “Junior” Lopez in December 2021 during a response to a reported mental health crisis. Five years later, a state oversight board has preliminarily concluded that the shooting violated California’s standards for the use of lethal force. A final decision is expected in June.

Law

Senate Bill 2 was adopted in 2021 and gave the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, known as POST, the authority to revoke police certifications for serious misconduct. Before the law, discipline was largely handled internally by individual departments, and officers who were fired or resigned could sometimes find work at another agency.

Under SB 2, decertification removes an officer’s authority to work as a peace officer anywhere in the state. Supporters of the law say it closes a long-standing accountability gap by focusing not just on employment status, but on whether an individual should be allowed to police at all.

Case

The POST advisory board, a five-member panel created under SB 2, voted unanimously in April to revoke Zavala’s and Quintanilla’s certifications. The board found that neither officer was in immediate danger when they used deadly force against Lopez.

The board is scheduled to meet again in June to determine whether to make the revocation final. If that happens, the officers would be among the first in California to lose certification over an on-duty shooting since the law took effect.

Incident

The shooting occurred on the evening of Dec. 18, 2021, in the 900 block of East Adams Boulevard. Lopez’s sister, Sonia Torres, called 911 seeking help for her brother, who was experiencing a mental health crisis. She told the dispatcher that Lopez was outside holding a large knife and feared he might harm himself.

According to LAPD records and body camera footage, Lopez was seated on steps outside his family’s apartment building when officers arrived. He was holding the knife to his neck and was largely unresponsive to commands. Officers spent more than 13 minutes issuing verbal commands in English and Spanish and attempting to de-escalate the situation.

One officer fired a 40mm less-lethal foam round, which appeared to have little effect. After a second foam round was fired, Zavala and Quintanilla discharged their service weapons within seconds. Lopez was struck three times, including once in the neck. He was taken to a hospital, where he died about an hour later.

Review

LAPD’s internal Force Investigation Division later determined that the shooting was out of policy. The department’s Use of Force Review Board concluded that a reasonable officer in the same situation would not have believed lethal force was necessary or proportional.

Then-Police Chief Michel Moore agreed with that assessment. In October 2022, he imposed unpaid suspensions of 10 days for Zavala and five days for Quintanilla. Both officers were reassigned to non-field duties and continued working for the department.

City payroll records show that Quintanilla was later promoted, receiving an increase in base pay.

Records

As part of the POST investigation, disciplinary records that are rarely made public were released ahead of the April hearing. Those records show that, prior to the Lopez shooting, Zavala and Quintanilla were involved in a combined total of 39 use-of-force investigations and 30 allegations of serious misconduct.

Category	Total
Use of force investigations	39
Serious misconduct allegations	30
Avoidable vehicle collisions	2

Zavala, who joined LAPD in 2009, had previously been suspended for excessive force in two separate incidents. One occurred about eight months before the Lopez shooting and involved kicking a person during an arrest. Another involved punching an arrestee multiple times during a jail booking, with investigators concluding that several of the punches were excessive.

Quintanilla, hired in 2015, was the subject of numerous misconduct allegations, most of which were found to be unfounded. He received an admonishment in 2021 related to a vehicle pursuit.

State Findings

POST investigator Dave Sieber, a former FBI agent, concluded that Lopez did not pose an immediate threat to officers or the public. In his report, Sieber wrote that Lopez did not lunge, rapidly advance, attempt to flee, or make sudden movements that would necessitate deadly force.

The POST board also considered the officers’ prior disciplinary histories in reaching its initial decision. It found that the shooting did not meet the state’s legal and training standards governing the use of lethal force.

Impact

If the officers are decertified, their names will be added to the National Decertification Index, a database that tracks officers nationwide who have lost certification for serious misconduct. The index is used by law enforcement agencies during background checks, though standards vary by state and inclusion does not automatically bar employment elsewhere.

The City of Los Angeles reached an $8 million wrongful death settlement with Lopez’s family in July 2025. Legal scholars have raised broader questions about how cities use information from such settlements to reduce future harm and financial liability. Since 2016, LAPD-related civil lawsuits have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Criminal Review

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is still reviewing whether to file criminal charges against Zavala and Quintanilla. An independent police oversight firm, OIR Group, assisted prosecutors and submitted its findings earlier this year. No charging decision has been announced.

Criminal charges against officers for on-duty shootings remain rare in Los Angeles County, though a small number of recent cases suggest increased scrutiny.

The final POST decision will not determine criminal liability, but it could set an important precedent for how California enforces police accountability under Senate Bill 2.

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