Jury Awards Brothers $2.2 Million in Father’s Fatal Police Shooting : Courts: Attorneys see impact of Rodney King beating in the judgment that an Inglewood officer violated the victim’s civil rights.

Two Los Angeles boys were awarded $2.2 million in damages Friday by a Los Angeles jury that decided an Inglewood police officer violated their father’s civil rights when they shot and killed him in a park 3 1/2 years ago.

The federal court jury also awarded $550,000 in damages to Pearl Boylan, the boys’ grandmother and mother of Samuel Covin Jr., the man who was killed.

Civil rights lawyers said the total award of $2.7 million is one of the largest jury verdicts in a police shooting case in Los Angeles federal court.

“I’m tremendously pleased that these boys will be able to get the help and support that they need,” said Gary Casselman, the Los Angeles attorney who represented Stephen Covin, 5, and Christopher Covin, 3.

Casselman said he had been unable to speak to the jurors, but said he thought their decision might have been affected by the highly publicized Los Angeles Police Department beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

“The Rodney King incident has heightened the awareness of the community and the nation to the subject of police violations of individual rights,” Casselman said.

Timothy Walker, the attorney who represented Rick Vaselenko, the Inglewood officer who was found liable, also said he thought the King incident had played a role in the verdict.

The jurors deliberated two days after a five-day trial, which stemmed from a May 7, 1988, shooting.

According to testimony at the trial before U.S. District Judge Harry Hupp, Vaselenko and his partner, Santiago Guillen saw Covin sleeping in his car at 4:30 a.m. in Centinela Park.

Guillen rapped on the driver’s side window of Covin’s 1986 red Nissan Sentra, while Vaselenko was walking around the front of the car. Covin awoke and apparently was startled to see the officers.

The officers testified that Covin stared at them with a “wild, crazed look.” Then, they said, Covin started to rev the car engine and the Nissan lurched forward toward Vaselenko.

Vaselenko testified that he believed his life was in danger and decided to fire his revolver at Covin while jumping toward the passenger side of the car.

The evidence showed that .38-caliber bullets fired by Vaselenko pierced the passenger window and struck Covin. Guillen testified that he fired his .9-millimeter revolver on reflex. A coroner’s autopsy determined that Covin was killed by a bullet that entered his abdomen, though he also was struck by several other shots.

The officers were not disciplined by the Inglewood Police Department and expert witnesses testified for the defense that the shooting was reasonable. But Casselman said the verdict against Vaselenko made it clear that the jurors did not accept that testimony.

Walker said he was “very shocked” by the verdict and the magnitude of the damage award. Testimony had been introduced at trial that Covin had ingested a large quantity of cocaine just hours before the shooting and that he had reported earnings of $9,700 in the previous five years.

Covin’s brother testified that the victim was sleeping in the park because he had been evicted by his landlord and was too proud to live with relatives as his wife and children were doing. Testimony also was presented that Covin was helping pay for his family’s living expenses when he was killed.