Ex-Officer Who Killed Boy Offers to Drop Suit if Stanton Will Pay Tuition

An ex-policeman who mistakenly shot and killed a 5-year-old boy in 1983 says he will drop a $25-million lawsuit against Stanton if the city pays his law school tuition and lets him carry a concealed weapon.

Ex-Officer Anthony Sperl also asked city officials to destroy his old .357-Magnum revolver “for moral reasons.” The gun killed Patrick Andrew Mason, 5, on March 3, 1983, in the darkened apartment where his mother had left him while she was at work. Patrick had a toy gun. Sperl thought it was real and opened fire.

Sperl, 27, said city officials promised him a chance to build a new career after he left the force in August, 1983, and he wants $20,000 from the city to continue his studies at a Los Angeles law school. He also wants the right to carry a concealed firearm.

“What we’re talking about here are things that were promised to me before,” Sperl said. “You don’t see me making a demand for $8 million, because I’m not.”

Patrick’s mother, Patricia Ridge, accepted a $395,000 settlement from the city May 9.

At the time of the shooting, Ridge said she had left her son at home alone because she could not afford a baby sitter.