Crime & Safety
Men Shot by Deputies in Long Beach Awarded Nearly $500,000
The men were suspected of transporting methamphetamine but none were found in their truck.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to pay out $492,500 to two men who were shot at by sheriff’s deputies who had been tipped that the men were moving a pound of methamphetamine in a truck full of lawnmowers.
No narcotics or weapons were found in the Ford Ranger truck.
A narcotics detective was tipped off and reached out to two deputies on patrol in the early evening of Aug. 29, 2012.
The deputies called on the driver of the Ford Ranger truck to pull over on Santa Fe Avenue in Long Beach, but the truck darted left “in what appeared to the two deputy sheriffs an attempt to flee,” according to a summary provided to the board.
The truck hit a vehicle stopped in front of it.
A deputy walked to the driver’s side of the truck and told the driver and passenger “at least three times in English” to show their hands. When they didn’t and the driver reached for the door, lowering his right hand out of view, the deputy fired three rounds, two of which hit the driver.
The other deputy, standing on the passenger side of the truck, heard the shots and reportedly thought the driver was shooting.
“The second deputy fired his duty weapon five times as he retreated to their patrol car for cover, striking the plaintiff’s vehicle,” according to the summary.
Assisting units were called.
“The occupants of the vehicle were repeatedly given orders in English and Spanish and the suspects would not comply,” according to the summary. “After repeated orders, the plaintiff and the passenger finally complied. They were subsequently handcuffed and ultimately taken into custody.”
“A search of the plaintiff’s truck did not reveal any weapons or narcotics.”
Though the deputies were found to have acted in self-defense and within policy, the summary also noted that “inadequate planning and poor tactics” helped cause the incident.
Lawyers for the county recommended the settlement based on the risks and uncertainties of litigation.
–City News Service, photo via Shutterstock
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