Family Seeks $110 Million in Slaying by Police

The family of Frank Martinez, an 18-year-old Westminster man who was shot to death by police during a confrontation at his mother’s birthday party, filed a claim against the city Tuesday seeking $110 million in damages.

The claim seeks $10 million for each of the 11 members of the Martinez family.

An attorney for the family also demanded Tuesday that the police officer who shot Martinez be criminally charged in his death. “If justice is to be done, the officer should be charged with homicide,” said the attorney, Jose Zorrilla Jr.

Zorrilla said he based the demand on information gathered by a private investigator hired by the family. According to Zorrilla, witnesses said that the officer who shot Martinez had to be restrained by other police, who forced him into the back seat of a squad car after the shooting.

“He wanted to come back out and hit some more people,” Zorrilla claimed.

Police and Martinez’s family have offered dramatically different accounts of the July 15 shooting and the events that led to the back yard confrontation, straining relations between authorities and residents of the predominantly Latino neighborhood.

A police spokesman Tuesday declined to comment on the shooting, which is under investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Police Chief James I. Cook has maintained that Martinez and an angry crowd attacked officers after they tried to question Martinez’s brother about an alleged gang incident in the neighborhood. In earlier statements, police said the officers were kicked and beaten and were in fear of losing their weapons during the attack.

The officers, who have not been identified by police, “acted within their authority,” Cook said last month.

However, Zorrilla said Tuesday that Cook’s statement was premature because police at the time had not interviewed any civilian witnesses.

“It was completely irresponsible for the chief, who made the statement within hours after the shooting,” Zorrilla said.

In addition, the investigator, James W. Box of Orange, said witnesses reported that police taunted the Martinez family, their party guests and neighbors, with racial slurs.

The incident began when police, who were searching for gang members suspected of battering a car and kidnaping two girls who were passengers, stopped Martinez’s brother, Joel, near his parents’ home. Police have stated that Joel Martinez was positively identified by a teen-age girl who witnessed the gang attack. Box, however, said the girl told him that her identification was vague and tentative.

“She said she told police that ‘he looks like one of them,’ or ‘it could be one of them’ or ‘it might be.’ But she never said, ‘That’s him,’ as police allege,” Box said.

Brothers Rushed to Help

Based on the identification, police questioned Joel Martinez. Police said he appeared to be hiding something behind his back, and when they attempted to grab him, a scuffle ensued. Frank Martinez rushed to help and, at about the same time, two additional police cars arrived. Police then chased Frank Martinez back to his parents’ house, where the scuffle spilled into the back yard birthday party. According to police, Frank Martinez was shot as he threatened a fallen police officer with a beer bottle.

According to family members, police were verbally abusive when they first stopped Joel Martinez. He refused to answer questions and a scuffle broke out when an officer attempted to put an arm lock on him. Family members also deny that Frank Martinez menaced the officer with a bottle and contend that the shooting was unprovoked.

Zorrilla said he has urged the district attorney’s office to announce its findings “as soon as possible,” in hopes of defusing tensions.

Mother Protests Decision

Amanda Martinez, the dead man’s mother, also protested the decision to allow the police officer who shot her son to return to duty just days after the incident. “I think the officer involved (who shot Martinez) should be taken off the streets,” she said. “If he isn’t, another incident like this can happen again. He belongs behind bars.”

The controversy last week prompted a federal agency to announce plans for an assessment of the incident. The Community Relations Service, the conciliation arm of the U.S. Justice Department, will examine Westminster because of the shooting and another unrelated incident, said Julian Klugman, community relations service regional director.