Tentative settlement reached in LAPD shooting of former city librarian

A mid-trial tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed against the city of Los Angeles by a former city librarian who alleges she was wrongfully shot in the left hip by an LAPD officer at her Silver Lake home in 2017.

Attorneys for plaintiff Shellie Cooke and the City Attorney’s Office told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long on Wednesday that a “conditional” accord had been reached in her case. No terms were divulged.

Attorneys began making opening statements in the case Tuesday and the first witness was scheduled to testify Wednesday.

According to the suit, the incident occurred on March 6, 2017, on Edgecliffe Drive. Cooke was celebrating her 45th birthday that day.

Cooke, her mother and a third woman were discussing the possibility of the plaintiff going to Kaiser Permanente Hospital to begin an alcohol- rehabilitation program, the suit stated. Throughout the day, however, Cooke was having mood swings, according to the suit.

An unloaded rifle was in the home and Cooke, now 50 and of Ojai, did not threaten anyone with it, the suit states.

Cooke’s mother later dialed 911 out of concern for her daughter and the plaintiff later attempted to surrender with the rifle, which was pointed downward when she was shot outside the home, according to the suit. The officers had also fired bean bags at her, the suit states.

The District Attorney’s Office found the shooting occurred in self-defense.

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