Jury finds Shooting Latino Man Nine Times in the Back was Reasonable - No Excessive Force by San Diego Deputies

SAN DIEGO — A federal jury in San Diego sided with three sheriff’s deputies Thursday in two wrongful death lawsuits filed by the family of a Vista parolee who was shot in a confrontation in 2006.

After hearing about a week of testimony in U.S. District Court in San Diego, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before delivering their unanimous verdict in favor of the deputies — Shawn Aitken, Jacob Pavlenko and Jonathan Fecteau.

The trio of officers were acting reasonably when they fatally shot David Arnulfo Lopez, 27, following reports of domestic violence in the Vista Terraces Mobile Home Park on Oct. 21, 2006, the jury found.

Many jurors lingered after being dismissed Thursday to thank the deputies for their service, including one woman who said she hoped those deputies would respond if she ever called 911, said Deputy County Counsel David Axtmann, who represented the deputies.

The shooting was one of several over the span of a few years that raised the community’s concerns over the Sheriff’s Department’s use of force against Latino men.

Especially troubling to some was the revelation that most of the 12 bullets that struck Lopez hit him in the back, while one hit him in the side, according to court records. The family’s attorneys argued that was an indication he was fleeing, not fighting, when shot.

“This was always a difficult case because of the facts,” said Victor Torres, attorney for Lopez’s 10-year-old daughter and spokesman for El Grupo, a Latino rights organization.

“The facts required pretty much a split-second decision the officers’ part, but we still thought it was unreasonable conduct. The jury disagreed, and we have to respect their decision.”

The lawsuits, filed in federal court in 2007 and 2008, accused the Sheriff’s Department of having a history and propensity of using excessive and unreasonable force. The family also claimed the department failed to properly train its deputies, leading to the shooting.

The separate suits were filed by Lopez’s widow and Lopez’s young daughter after claims against both the city of Vista and San Diego County were denied. The widow had asked the jury to award her $50,000 and a guardian of the daughter had asked for $150,000.

Last year, the city, county and then-Sheriff Bill Kolender were dismissed from the suits, leaving the three deputies to face the allegations.

The deputies were responding to a 911 call that Lopez had threatened his wife and family with a butcher knife in her mobile home. Deputies learned upon arrival that he had attacked two neighbors and then had broken into a nearby home, according to court documents.

Lopez tried to flee out a bathroom window but couldn’t, so he allegedly rushed the deputies on the small front porch, sheriff’s officials said at the time. A sheriff’s dog was deployed and bit Lopez, but that had no effect, authorities said.

Deputies reported seeing Lopez make a sudden movement to his right and then reach for his waistband, and the three deputies fired.

A small knife was found about 30 feet away, and a butcher knife was found near his wife’s home.

Lopez, whose criminal record includes charges of battery on a police officer, domestic violence and resisting an officer, was high on methamphetamine at the time, according to court records. He was also violating the conditions of his parole by contacting his wife.