Panel OKs $1.55-Million Settlement to Wounded Officer

A Los Angeles City Council committee recommended Tuesday that a San Fernando police reserve officer who was shot and seriously wounded by a Los Angeles narcotics detective during an undercover drug stakeout be awarded a $1.55-million settlement.

Ricardo Rose, 30, of Northridge was shot by Los Angeles police officer Victor L. Carranza, 46, on June 24, 1980, while the two were staking out a suspected drug dealer’s Los Angeles home. Carranza said he mistook Rose for the drug dealer, according to a city attorney’s report.

Rose, who was 23 at the time of the accident, sued the City of Los Angeles and Carranza for injuries stemming from the shooting. Rose suffered a fractured tibia, has had ongoing pain in his legs and is unable to stand or sit for long periods, the city attorney’s report said.

Officer Found Negligent

A Los Angeles jury last April found Carranza negligent and awarded Rose $2.1 million. The civil lawsuit, filed in 1980, had originally sought $10 million in damages.

In May, Assistant City Atty. Thomas C. Hokinson filed a notice of appeal for a new trial on grounds that damages awarded were excessive. But rather than conduct a second trial, the City Council’s Finance and Revenue Committee approved the city attorney’s recommendation to settle out of court.

The committee will submit its recommendation to the full council, which will vote on the matter Tuesday.

“We’re elated with the settlement,” said Rose’s attorney, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. “We think it’s fair and a good settlement for both sides.”

According to testimony from the 10-day trial, Rose and Carranza met 10 minutes before the joint operation was set up in front of an apartment house in the 2400 block of West 9th Street. But during the stakeout, Carranza mistook Rose for suspected narcotics dealer Paul Ramos, 54, the city attorney’s report said. Rose resembles Ramos in build and was dressed in a blue shirt, as was Ramos, according to court testimony.

Rose testified that he had walked toward the suspect’s car and was in the process of arresting Ramos when he saw Carranza coming toward him with his gun drawn. Rose told the court that he identifed himself as a police officer several times and held up his badge before Carranza shot him. Carranza was about 12 feet away from Rose at the time that he fired, Cochran said.

Carranza has said that he did not see the badge, but saw a gun-wielding man who he thought was Ramos and fired, according to the city attorney’s report.

Rose was shot several times in the legs by Carranza’s .38-caliber revolver. As a result of his injuries, Rose walks with a limp and “can only engage in semi-sedentary employment,” the report stated.