Slain Officer’s Mother Says LAPD Mob Training Killed Her Son

The mother of a Los Angeles police officer who died during mob simulation training has filed a wrongful death claim against the city — the precursor to a lawsuit.

Shirley Huffman says her son Houston Tipping was beaten to death during the training exercise, which was meant to prepare officers for disorderly crowd control. The claim says he suffered repeated blows to the head and multiple breaks to the vertebrae, which allegedly caused his death.

Huffman’s claim accuses the department of assault and battery and civil rights violations. The claim demands the department retain all evidence related to the matter, including videos of the training session. LAPD has declined to comment, citing a pending legal matter. 

Tipping was a five-year veteran of the LAPD who worked for the Devonshire division. He was 32 years old.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.