City to Pay Dubose’s Widow $1,200 per Month

The widow of a Southeast San Diego man who was killed by a police officer during a drug raid last year will receive a $20,000 payment and $1,200 per month for the rest of her life under a settlement approved Tuesday by the San Diego City Council.

The total package will amount to about $470,000, including court costs and attorney’s fees, if 53-year-old Mary Dubose lives out a normal life span, city attorneys said after the council’s unanimous closed-session vote in favor of the settlement.

Mary Dubose, a city employee who earns between $16,000 and $17,000 annually, said she was “satisfied” with the settlement.

“I don’t have anything to shout for joy for, because it doesn’t bring my husband back,” she said. “But I’m glad it’s over.”

But her attorney, James Randall, said that the settlement was not a fair one given the circumstances of the case. “I think the case is worth considerably more,” said Randall, who added that he will collect $45,000 in fees.

‘Better to Let This Case Settle’

“For the city of San Diego, and for Mary, it’s probably better to let this case settle and go on to other things,” Randall said. A court trial would have delayed Mary Dubose’s payments at least 18 months and forced her to relive her husband’s death, he said.

“Sometimes the client says, ‘Settle,’ ” Randall said.

Tommie Dubose was shot to death March 12, 1988, during a nighttime raid staged by officers who charged into his home while executing a search warrant. While Dubose struggled with one officer, another, Carlos Garcia, shot the 56-year-old man five times. Four of the bullets hit Dubose in the back.

The district attorney’s office did not charge Garcia, ruling that he reasonably believed that Dubose had wrested control of the other officer’s gun.

No drugs were found in the search, which was aimed at the Duboses’ son Charles, who allegedly sold rock cocaine to an undercover police officer the day before his father was slain. Police later conceded that most of the drug activity in the home occurred during the daytime when Mary and Tommie Dubose were at work.

Randall said that Mary Dubose structured the settlement with the city so that none of her four children will receive any money.

“There’s some rotten apples on the tree,” Randall said. “In this case, they shot down the tree, but there’s some rotten apples on it.”

In an unusual decision, City Atty. John Witt declined to reveal the cost of the annuity that will be purchased for Mary Dubose. Witt acknowledged that state law requires the city to publish that figure in preparation for an open-session council vote on the matter, which will take place either next week or when the council reconvenes after its August recess.

The refusal to disclose the information is part of an agreement approved by a federal magistrate and is intended to aid Mary Dubose, Witt said. Under an obscure IRS provision, she will not have to pay taxes on the payments if she is not aware of the cost of purchasing the annuity, Witt said.