San Diego : Father Files Claim for $1 Million in Slaying of Son

Robert W. Holden, whose 21-year-old son was shot to death by two San Diego police officers in May, filed a $1-million claim against the City of San Diego on Wednesday, saying that he “wants to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The claim, made for what Holden described as “the wrongful death of my beloved son and best friend,” is the first step in ultimately filing a lawsuit against the city. The City Council will review the claim during the next few weeks.

Wayne Douglas Holden, apparently despondent over an argument with his girlfriend, was shot to death May 28 after he ran through his father’s San Carlos neighborhood wielding a knife and threatening to kill himself.

The younger Holden was chased for several blocks by at least 10 police officers before he jumped through the window of a house, where he was shot six times by Sgt. Robert Stinson and Officer Carl Smith.

Holden also has asked the American Civil Liberties Union to file suit against the police department’s “shoot-to-kill policy” because it “violates the 14th Amendment,” he said Wednesday during a press conference outside City Hall.