Damages Granted in Police Shooting

An El Segundo resident whose home was hit by gunfire last fall during a police operation that went awry has been granted $5,525 in damages by the city, officials said.

Last November, undercover officers from several local departments were staking out an automatic teller machine at the Bank of America on North Sepulveda Boulevard in El Segundo, hoping to catch robbers who had been targeting customers.

Gunfire broke out when the police mistakenly thought a customer was a suspect, and one of the police officer’s bullets went into the home of Annie Sheldon. Another bullet grazed bank customer Bernie Denby, 44, of Hollywood, in the head.

El Segundo officials are seeking to have the city of Redondo Beach pay part of Sheldon’s settlement, saying it was a Redondo Beach officer that fired the shot. Denby has filed still-unresolved claims against Torrance, Redondo Beach and El Segundo, each of which had officers at the scene.