Settlement With Dubose’s Widow to Cost City $218,833

An out-of-court settlement between the city of San Diego and the widow of a Southeast San Diego man slain by police will cost the city $218,833, according to documents released Friday.

Under the settlement, Mary Dubose, 53, will receive a $20,000 payment and $1,200 a month for the rest of her life from an annuity purchased for her by the city.

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

The district attorney’s office did not charge Officer Carlos Garcia in the case, ruling that he reasonably believed that Dubose had wrested control of the other officer’s gun. But, in April, 1988, Mary Dubose filed a $15-million claim against the city, contending that the shooting of her husband was unnecessary and inhumane.

City Atty. John Witt revealed the terms of the out-of-court settlement Tuesday after the City Council approved the deal in closed session. However, Witt refused to give the total cost to the city, citing an agreement among the two sides and a federal magistrate.

Witt also said that, under an obscure Internal Revenue Service provision, Mary Dubose will not have to pay taxes on the money if she is kept ignorant of the cost of the premiums.

According to information published on an agenda for next Monday’s council meeting, the annuity will cost the city $153,833. The city also will pay $45,000 in attorney’s fees to Mary Dubose’s lawyer, James Randall, and the $20,000 lump sum to Mary Dubose.

The council is scheduled to take a final vote on the settlement in open session Monday.