Posted on 07/20/2005 8:49:43 AM PDT by holymoly
Man who was shot by deputies during a Harbor Gateway shootout gets $70,000 for his injuries.
A roofer mistakenly shot by sheriff's deputies during a chaotic gunbattle in Harbor Gateway last year has been awarded $70,000.
The county Claims Board approved the settlement on Monday for Ricardo Oliva, who was holding a mop while working atop a building. Deputies suspected he might be a sniper preparing to shoot them.
"He was very lucky and gives daily blessings to himself and his family that his life was spared," said Oliva's attorney, Steven Lerman. "He is a good guy and was basically in the wrong place at the wrong time."
A day after the March 31, 2004, shooting, Sheriff's Department officials called the shooting of Oliva an "unfortunate accident" at the conclusion of a chase in which the driver jumped out of his car and began firing at deputies with an assault weapon.
Deputies had been following Salvador Mosqueda, 32, from Carson after his mother said he was suicidal and had threatened his girlfriend. On Normandie Avenue at Torrance Boulevard, he began shooting at officers with a rifle capable of firing 100 rounds in a minute.
Deputies returned fire and killed him.
Sheriff's officials admitted from the beginning that three deputies who heard the shots but could not see the gunfire from the other side of a building confused roofers atop Melody Liquor for gunmen.
They fired, wounding Oliva.
"The sheriff's deputies, believing Mr. Oliva was a sniper involved in the shooting that had just occurred, fired at him, striking him twice in the arm," the Claims Board report said.
"After he was removed from the roof, the sheriff's deputies learned that he was a roofer and was using a long-handled hot mop on the roof."
The Claims Board report, written by Assistant County Counsel Roger H. Granbo, said that although the person on the roof with a mop could have been perceived as a threat, a jury "could find that the sheriff's deputies' actions were unreasonable under the circumstances."
The settlement, the report said, would save litigation costs and avoid a larger payout.
Lerman called the deputies' actions a "comedy of errors"
"He was a victim of inappropriate conduct by the sheriff's deputies," Lerman said. "He still has scars and difficulty with his arm."
Stevem Lerman, now that's an attorney I'll never use.
Dittos,
Here he is, workin' for a livin' and mindin' his on business.
This guy deserves more....
If any wealthy FReepers can front the money, would you be willing to take two bullets to the arm if you're promised $70,000 at the conclusion of the experiment? We'll arrange later if they will be rifle or handgun rounds.
Awaiting your response...
~ Blue Jays ~
That statement alone should have been enough to terminated the deputies employment...
This guys lawyers must have taken a payoff. The guy deserves 7 million at least. If the idiot deputies that shot him are still on the force the county deserves to be bankrupt.
I'm happy I live in an area where the sheriff deputies can distinguish the difference between a mop and a rifle. Must be because these deputies realize that one fires bullets while the other drips water.
When an idiot slips through and gets a badge, the citizens here get him fired. Maybe this community got one of our rejects.
Snipers have high power scopes that enable them to see details like whether the target has a mop or a gun in his hands.
I don't understand why a sniper would pull the trigger.
I'm assuming you are using hyperbole when speaking of 'your' tax dollars. Unless you do actually live in this county. If you do then in the name of protecting 'your' tax dollars I encourage you to work for the dismissal of your sheriff as he is obviously just collecting his paycheck. These criminally reckless deputies might have been trained by Rambo. Or maybe the Terminator.
Injuries caused by calibers typically used by the police (9mm and larger) will cause much more disruption to your life than could be "balanced" by a $70,000 payment. I wouldn't advise anyone to take that bet in a million years. Getting shot as an innocent bystander in the course of police business is a terrible thing.
From what we can understand, the following people were also in very grave danger at the time of this shooting:
I'm a huge supporter of the police having come from a family with plenty of people on the job. The decision to shoot sounds a bit rash and the compensation to the victim seems a bit low for the radical changes in this person's life.
~ Blue Jays ~
Legislation needs to be advanced to require that a mop have a 'Red' tip at the end of the handle.
These Deputies must be 'sound-shooters' when they go hunting deer.
We must act immediately to ban all mops for the safety of the children.
so, just out of curiousity..
how many bullets did it take to take this guy off the roof?
was it rifle or pistol rounds?
how many deputies fired at the guy?
Sounds like we need more info here. Was this a fully automatic assault mop (with a banana clip, perhaps)? Or was it one of those snub-nosed Saturday-night special Johnny mops?
When mops are outlawed, only outlaws will have mops.
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