Suit Alleging O.C. Officer Beat Man Is Settled : Litigation: Deputy accused of excessive force at John Wayne Airport in arrest of photographer who flew over Reagan’s house in 1988.

A Riverside man who claimed in a lawsuit that an Orange County sheriff’s deputy used excessive force on him agreed Wednesday to settle his case against the county for $100,000.

Douglas Davis, 40, had contended that a sheriff’s deputy “beat him up pretty good” as he was taken into custody and searched at John Wayne Airport on Dec. 28, 1988, according to his attorney, Scott Raphael.

“We felt that we could have done better with a jury, but Mr. Davis wanted to put this matter behind him,” Raphael said. “The county should be commended. They recognized they had a problem with this (deputy) and they knew they had a duty to deal with it.”

The deputy, identified as Charles Shinn, has since left the force, Raphael said.

County attorneys could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

According to Raphael, Davis, a pilot and aerial photographer, accidentally flew over restricted air space above former President Ronald Reagan’s BelAir home on the day he was arrested.

Secret Service agents asked the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to detain Davis when he landed at John Wayne Airport so they could question him about the incident, Raphael said.

But when Shinn approached Davis at the airport, he “laid into him and roughed him up,” Raphael alleged.

Davis, who was questioned by Secret Service agents and released after they determined that he flew over the area unknowingly, suffered injuries to his shoulder and knee because of the alleged assault, Raphael said.

Raphael added that his client has incurred more than $20,000 in medical bills and is expected to need more treatment.

Davis was later acquitted by a jury on charges of resisting arrest filed by the Orange County district’s attorney’s office, Raphael said.