Krekorian: 'A Cold Day in Hell' Will Come Before Agreeing to Pay Drive-by Shooter $4.5 Mil

The City Council is set next week to consider a controversial $4.5 million settlement payment to a man paralyzed in 2005 when Los Angeles police officers shot the unarmed suspect during a foot chase, a shooting that a jury ruled was unjustified.

The case has pitted Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and some members of the City Council against City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who negotiated the settlement.

The case involves a police chase that ensued after Robert Contreras, then 19, drove a van from the scene of a drive-by shooting in South Los Angeles. Contreras and two others abandoned the van and took off on foot about four blocks from the shooting.

Officers Julio Benevides and Mario Flores reported seeing Contreras jump out of the van with a gun and chased him, then fired on the suspect. Contreras was shot first in the ankle and subsequently multiple times in the side and back as he turned toward the officers. He was holding a cell phone, but no gun was found.

An internal police department review concluded the officers' decision to shoot was the right one.

Contreras, who was paralyzed from the waist down but with limited use of his arms, was convicted in 2009 of participating in the drive-by shooting and served prison time before being released on parole last year.

He filed a federal lawsuit against the city in February 2011, alleging the officers violated his civil rights. Lawyers for Contreras argued the shooting was "excessive and unreasonable under the circumstances," and violated his right to a reasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, according to the complaint. A jury in February ruled unanimously against the city.

Trutanich's office negotiated the $4.5 million settlement with Contreras to avoid a second court phase to determine damages owed by the city, a figure that could be as high as $12 million, according to one source.

"It could always be more. That's why you settle," Chief Deputy City Attorney William Carter said. "The jury ruled against us. Their lawyer is asking for a lot of money." He declined to give an exact figure.

Contreras' future medical care was estimated at between $4 million and $8 million.

The case has posed a difficult question for lawmakers and Villaraigosa: protect the city's budget, which is already facing a $220 million deficit, and agree to pay millions of dollars to an accomplice in a shooting, or defend the police officers' response with an appeal and risk more legal fees and having to pay out more money in damages.

The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee chaired by Councilman Paul Krekorian, who represents parts of North Hollywood and Studio City, voted unanimously during a closed session on Monday to oppose the settlement. Councilmen Mitch Englander, Tony Cardenas, Paul Koretz and Bill Rosendahl are also on the committee.

"It would be a cold day in hell when I would be supportive of giving a boatload of money to somebody who is involved in shooting at the citizens of Los Angeles," Krekorian said. "I just think it's fundamentally wrong."

Krekorian said the case sends the wrong message to police officers.

"We have almost 10,000 men and women in the police department, who on any given day could be put in a similar situation and could be faced with a life or death circumstance," Krekorian said. "It would send the wrong message to those officers if we said, despite all your training ... if you shoot and a jury finds that somehow you violated the civil rights of the suspect of the case, we're going to roll over and do what the jury says is right rather than what we think is right."

Krekorian said a settlement would also send a message to suspects in future situations that the city is not willing to fight against violent criminals.

Krekorian said he spoke with Villaraigosa and Beck, who oppose the settlement, which the council will consider on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"The mayor agrees with Councilman Krekorian that the claims board made a mistake in concurring with the city attorney that the $4.5 million settlement to a man convicted for participating in a drive by shooting was appropriate," Villaraigosa Senior Press Secretary Peter Sanders said. "Given the facts in this case, we'd rather take our chances on appeal."

Beck said the department stands by the officers' decision to shoot Contreras. He cited decisions by the department's Office of the Inspector General investigation and the Board of Police Commissioners that the shooting was within department policy.