Paddle-out planned for Imperial Beach official killed in Mexico

A memorial and paddle-out ceremony is set to take place in Imperial Beach in San Diego County on Monday to honor a city official who was killed last month during an apparent robbery attempt while he was vacationing in a resort town in southern Mexico.

The ceremony for Doug Bradley is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Imperial Beach Pier, organizers said. Mayor Serge Dedina is expected to make some remarks before surfers paddle out to honor Bradley.

An avid surfer, Bradley lived in Playas de Tijuana and commuted across the border for his post as administrative services director of Imperial Beach.

Dedina has described Bradley as a “world-traveling surfer” who was “loved by all who knew him.”

According to authorities in Mexico, Bradley was fatally shot outside a well-known nightclub in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero around 4 a.m. on Dec. 28. The shooting occurred a day shy of his 50th birthday.

Investigators said Bradley had been drinking at a bar known as “4020,” where he “contracted the services” of a woman. The pair went to an adjacent hotel where they had an apparent dispute, Mexican authorities said.

Bradley returned to the bar, insisting that his money be returned and saying that the woman had robbed him. He then began fighting with employees and patrons.

“As he left, he was caught by the killer, who shot at him from two or three meters away,” authorities said in a statement. He was shot three times, according to a Mexican official.

A suspect who was identified by witnesses was arrested earlier this month. He was in possession of the weapon connected by ballistics tests to the shooting, authorities said.

Bradley, who was divorced and had no children, is survived by his mother, a brother and a sister.

david,hernandez@sduniontribune.com