Dead Man’s Family Sues Santa Ana Over Shooting

The widow and children of a knife-wielding Santa Ana man shot four times during a drunken disturbance last August sued the city and others on Wednesday, claiming he had dropped his knife before he was shot and then clubbed with a night stick.

The family of Linthong Panyanak, 53, a former captain in the Laotian army, claims in the Superior Court suit that he was shot “without justification and unnecessarily” by Officer James Bland on Aug. 17.

While the suit does not specify the damages sought, an earlier claim filed with the city asked for $1 million. The claim, which the city rejected, was a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit.

Both sides agree that Panyanak was drunk and was threatening neighbors about 9 p.m. in an apartment complex in the 1100 block of South Minnie Street when police were called.

Bland shot Panyanak four times in the torso as the Laotian refugee, allegedly armed with the knife, lunged at him, and another officer hit Panyanak over the head with a night stick.

“People were yelling at police not to shoot him because he was drunk,” said David L. Arnopole of Beverly Hills, attorney for Panyanak’s widow, Thongkiene, 47, and daughters, Southone, 8, Khamborn, 6, and Rita, 4.

“According to witnesses, he threw the knife on the ground in front of him, about 15 feet from two police officers, who were standing behind a tree,” the lawyer said. “The police overreacted, and now they’re doing things to prevent a recovery.”

Last December, the county sheriff-coroner’s office determined that Panyanak died of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm, not by the bullets or the blow to the head. The coroner’s report indicated that Panyanak would have died from the sudden rupture of a congenitally weak blood vessel in his brain regardless of whether police had even gone to his apartment. Investigations by both Santa Ana police and prosecutors cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.

But Arnopole said a private pathology report disagrees with those findings and that further private pathology examinations will be undertaken.

“If he had an aneurysm, it was the night stick and four bullets that caused it,” the lawyer said.

The suit also lists as defendants Orange County and the City of Orange, both of which Arnopole said he named “to protect” his clients in case new facts show they were involved. He also said Bland and the other officer, whose name he does not have yet, will be added as defendants in an amended complaint.