The family of an unarmed, mentally disabled man killed by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer inside a Costco in Corona said Tuesday that authorities should consider prosecuting the officer.

“There seems to be unequal treatment of police officers compared to other citizens when deadly force is used,” said Dale Galipo, a Woodland Hills civil rights attorney the family hired.

The family “believes that the shooting was excessive and completely unjustified because Mr. (Kenneth) French was unarmed and posed no immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to anyone,” Galipo said.

Corona police and the officer’s attorney have said he fired his weapon after he and his toddler son were knocked over by the man who was killed. The officer was treated at a hospital and released without being arrested. He is on desk duty at the LAPD.

French, 32, of Temescal Valley, died inside the Costco on McKinley Street during the Friday night, June 14 incident. French’s parents, Russell and Paola French, were wounded by the officer’s gunfire.

Paola French, identified Tuesday as a Riverside County employee, remained in critical condition, and Russell French “is recovering from his injuries,” Galipo said.

The family “is particularly bothered by the fact that if anyone other than an off-duty police officer had shot three unarmed civilians in a Costco, that person would be in jail and facing criminal charges for murder,” the lawyer said.

David Winslow, an attorney for the Los Angeles officer said Monday the shooting happened after the officer was “without warning or provocation…violently attacked from behind” as the officer was holding his 1½-year-old son in his arms.

Both the officer and the boy were knocked to the floor and the officer was momentarily unconscious, Winslow said in a statement. He said the officer was “unprotected and had no other option to defend himself and his son from further deadly attack. He was in fear for his son’s life.

“He believed he was under attack,” Winslow said. “That’s when the shooting started.”

Corona police on Tuesday declined to comment on Winslow’s statement, Sgt. Chad Fountain said.

Police Chief George Johnstone posted a video statement online late Tuesday afternoon that did not elaborate on the circumstances of the shooting.

He described comments from the public on social media as mostly “erroneous and based on hearsay and speculation. This only serves to stir up the public’s emotions.”

But police continued to leave gaps in the narrative unfilled, such as how close French was to the officer after he awakened, why the parents were shot and what role, if any, the officer’s standing in law enforcement influenced the decision not to immediately arrest him.

“For several reasons, including the need to interview witnesses and review evidence, no arrest was made at the time of this incident,” Johnstone said in the video. “We assure you our department is committed to conducting a fair, impartial and thorough investigation.”

Costco Shooting Community Update – A message from the City of Corona Chief of Police, George Johnstone. Anyone who may have additional information regarding this case is encouraged to contact Lieutenant Newman at 951-817-5788 or email Robert.Newman@CoronaCA.gov pic.twitter.com/AkVuEcCvnx — Corona Police Dept. (@CoronaPD) June 18, 2019

The officer’s name has not been publicly released by authorities or either attorney.

Rick Shureih, French’s cousin, had described him as a “gentle giant” who was “non-violent, non-aggressive, non-verbal.” Galipo’s statement on Tuesday described French as having an intellectual disability. He repeated the family’s earlier call for any witnesses of the incident to come forward. “The French family believes that criminal prosecution against the involved officer should be considered,” he said.

Galipo has sued other law enforcement officers on behalf of families.

In a 2018 federal court case handled by Galipo, a jury awarded $33.5 million to the family of Nathaniel Harris Pickett Jr. who was shot and killed by a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy during a 2015 encounter at a motel in Barstow.

Pickett was unarmed and described as mentally ill. The award was later amended to $15.5 million, court records show.

While the case was on appeal to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, court records show the parties entered mediation, and the case was dismissed on a voluntary motion. No post-mediation monetary amounts were mentioned in appellate documents.

Galipo has also represented families of high-profile officer involved shooting victims in Anaheim and Long Beach, among other cities.

George Johnson, county executive officer for Riverside County, said that Paola French is a county employee. She is described on Transparent California, a public pay and pension database, as an information analyst.

Johnson offered best wishes for her recovery at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

The Los Angeles police officer, who is assigned to the department’s Southwest Division, has been removed from the field and placed on a desk assignment for at least the remainder of the department’s administrative investigation into the shooting, LAPD officials said. That is a typical move after an officer-involved shooting.

The department will consider what Corona police learn about the incident when weighing any other action involving the officer.

Staff Writer Brian Rokos contributed to this report.