Laguna Beach : Wrongful Death Suit Settled for $175,000

A $175,000 out-of-court settlement has been reached in a $2-million wrongful death suit filed against the City of Laguna Beach by the mother of a man who died four years ago while being held in City Jail.

The suit, which was to have gone to trial Aug. 19 in Orange County Superior Court, alleged that the Laguna Beach police “failed to adequately protect” Robert Gary Wardman, who died of skull fractures on July 22, 1981, several hours after he had been placed in the police drunk tank.

Police had found Wardman lying on a sidewalk outside a bar in the 1400 block of S. Coast Highway. Paramedics examined him at the scene and concluded he was intoxicated. While being taken to City Jail, Wardman slipped from a police officer’s grasp and hit his head on the pavement behind the police station, police said.

The Orange County district attorney’s office concluded in 1982 that Wardman died as a result of an earlier scuffle with four youths. However, said City Manager Ken Frank, the city’s defense was seriously weakened by the fact that the arresting officer waited several days before notifying his watch commander of Wardman’s fall.

“As far as we can tell, that was not the cause of death, but it still looks bad . . . when you have an officer who might have inadvertently hurt somebody and didn’t tell anyone,” Frank said. “Clearly, the officer did not follow departmental procedures, which required him to tell his supervisor of what happened.”

No charges were filed against the four youths, who the district attorney’s office said were acting in self-defense. The officer resigned from the police force shortly after the incident.

In the $175,000 settlement reached Thursday, Laguna Beach will pay $100,000, and the balance will be paid by the city’s insurance carrier.