San Clemente : Shot Off Duty, Ex-Officer Sues to Regain His Job

When Ronald J. Garcia was shot in the posterior by a jealous husband, he didn’t think it would end his career as a San Clemente police officer.

And when Garcia, after three years on the force, lost his job over the Aug. 8 incident, he decided he wasn’t going to take it sitting down. This week, he filed suit to get his badge back.

The suit, filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court, claims Garcia’s firing was an “excessive penalty for whatever he did that was wrong,” said William J. Hadden, the Santa Monica attorney representing Garcia.

A state administrative law judge early this year recommended a 60-day suspension after finding that the officer, then 27, had exercised poor judgment and improperly used a city vehicle.

City Manager James B. Hendrickson instead chose to dismiss Garcia because he showed “an extraordinary lack of judgment” and because his conduct was unbecoming a police officer, Hendrickson said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Garcia was shot in the buttocks and right leg by his lover’s husband, who discovered them in bed, Hadden said. The off-duty officer scooped up his belongings--including his clothes and gun--and was running naked from the Santa Ana home when he was hit with the flurry of birdshot.

When he heard the husband reloading, Garcia turned and fired three shots from his revolver, but struck no one, Hadden said.

Garcia’s lawsuit seeks reinstatement and lost wages. “I’m not saying the city proceeded in bad faith,” his attorney said. “I’m just saying they made a bad decision.”

The firing was initiated last September by Bob McDonnell, then a police lieutenant serving as acting chief. McDonnell has since left the department for a job as police chief in Woodland, near Sacramento, Hendrickson said.

Garcia appealed the firing to the city manager, who asked a state hearing officer to review the facts and recommend action. But ignoring the recommendation of William F. Byrnes, the state administrative law judge, Hendrickson fired Garcia on Feb. 6.

The city manager stands by McDonnell’s and his decisions to fire Garcia, he said Tuesday. Garcia, now 28, has been looking for a job in another police department, his attorney said.