FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Claim Is Denied in Rock Fan’s Death
The Inglewood City Council this week rejected a claim filed by the family of a Fountain Valley teen-ager who died in police custody outside a Grateful Dead concert at the Forum in December, setting up a lawsuit against the city.
The claim alleged that Patrick Shanahan, 19, died because of excessive force by police officers who clubbed him, applied a chokehold and did not start emergency first aid when he stopped breathing.
Inglewood police have maintained that officers did not use excessive force. Police said Shanahan was violent and under the influence of drugs when he was arrested outside the Forum on Dec. 10. Police took Shanahan to a nearby hospital after he stopped breathing.
City officials said the denial was routine for a claim that contained such difficult legal issues.
Lawrence B. Trygstad, the Shanahan attorney, said he would file a wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of the family.
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