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Sheriff's Deputies Mistake Roofer With Mop for Sniper - Shoot Him Twice!
Roofer mistaken for sniper settles with county
July 20, 2005
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."
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Good thing they weren't very good shots. I think gettin capped by accident would be worth more than 70K to me! :confused:
Peace Man! :cool:
CESAR
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Oops! I had new glasses and I would have asked for a least a million
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What they didn't mention in that article is those same two deputies shot an old woman with a dust buster earlier that day and shot at and missed a grade four girl wearing a Cat In The Hat sweater.
http://store1.yimg.com/I/oneofakindkids_1852_154201875
