CAMARILLO : Lawsuit Filed Over Shooting by Deputy

The family of an unarmed Camarillo robbery suspect paralyzed in February by a Ventura County deputy’s shotgun pellet has filed a $100-million lawsuit against the deputy, the county, Sheriff John Gillespie, and the county and Camarillo police forces.

The district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s internal affairs division had cleared Senior Deputy Linda Hagemann of any wrongdoing in the Feb. 14 shooting of Daniel Moreno, 24.

But Moreno’s family filed the suit Oct. 19 in Superior Court, alleging that Hagemann committed assault and battery upon Moreno, violated his constitutional rights, and shot him intentionally and maliciously.

Moreno was one of four men who allegedly fled the Kinney shoe store at 706 Arneill Road in Camarillo after a robbery, police said.

Acting under contract as a Camarillo police officer that night, Hagemann was the first officer to answer a radio call about a possible armed robbery at the store.

She later told investigators that she saw Moreno run from the store and believed that he was starting to turn toward her. The gun--whether intentionally or not--went off and one pellet hit Moreno from behind, lodging in his skull behind his left eyebrow. Moreno was found to be unarmed.

Moreno emerged from a coma about two months ago, but remains paralyzed and mentally handicapped, said his attorney, Gerhard Orthuber.

“He seems to have enough in him to recognize where he’s at, but he’s not functioning too well,” Orthuber said. “He recognizes his mother and he babbles like a 2-year-old child. . . . He’s got great personality changes and all that--mood swings.”

Alan Wisotsky, the attorney representing Hagemann, Gillespie and the county, said, “The internal investigation concluded--and I’m paraphrasing--that she acted in accordance with departmental policies. . . . The district attorney’s office also looked into the matter from a criminal standpoint and they felt that her actions were justifiable and they failed to prosecute.”

Wisotsky said he has not fully reviewed the lawsuit but will file a response to it by Nov. 19.