The family of an autistic Pakistani American man fatally shot by an LA Police Department (LAPD) 3 years ago, was awarded $1.7 million by a federal jury on January 26.

Mohammad Usman Chaudhry, 21, was shot four times by Joseph Cruz on March 2008. He was shot after Chaudhry was discovered lying on the ground of an apartment complex in Hollywood. Three of the bullets hit Chaudhry, in the chest.

His attorney said, “in light of the findings of the jury on the facts of this case, I hope Mayor Villaraigosa would apologise to the Chaudhry family on behalf of the city, accept the verdict and not put the family through further trauma over the loss of their son,” he said. “If the city doesn’t, they’ll just be spending more taxpayer money to defend a dishonest cop.”

The City Attorney’s office, declined to comment on the verdict or whether the city would appeal. Peter J Ferguson, who represented Cruz, could not be reached immediately for comment.

The award punctuates the awkward role the city played in the case. After the shooting, the LAPD fired Cruz for dishonesty in an unrelated case. At the time, lawyers for the city argued that Cruz had destroyed his credibility.