Officer Filbert H Cuesta

Officer Filbert Cuesta was shot in the back of the head just past midnight on a Sunday while waiting for backup as he and his partner faced a growing crowd of gang members. He had only been with the LAPD for four years and served in the department’s anti-gang CRASH program.

An assessment following the incident found that Cuesta and Richard Gabaldon had followed all proper procedures, but they still could not prepare for bullets suddenly shattering the rear window of their patrol car. The officer’s basic training for the scenario consisted of calling for backup and staying far away from the party, but Los Angeles Police Commission President Edith Perez said, “It appears there was no fighting chance here at all.” Police identified Catarino Gonzalez Jr. from 18th Street gang, maintained that he only wanted to scare the officers and was sentenced to life.

Filbert Cuesta is survived by his wife and two daughters, the youngest of whom he had just left to return to duty from a month off to be with the newborn, before his killing 3 days later. Donations to the slain officer’s family can be sent to Sylvia Cuesta in care of Tom Holliday at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, 333 S. Grand Ave., Suite 4600, Los Angeles, CA 90071.