Santa Ana to Pay Family of Officer Who Killed Self : Settlement: Council OKs $105,000 award. It faced claims of up to $147,500 in death of sergeant after firing.

The City Council has decided to pay $105,000 to the family of a former police sergeant who committed suicide in February, 1988.

The council made its decision in a closed session after midnight Tuesday after a six-hour council meeting. The city faced having to pay up to $147,500 to the family of James Earl McDonald on workers’ compensation claims filed before and after his death.

In 1986, McDonald sought worker’s compensation for stress disability, which he said was caused by being wrongly accused of failing to file a police shooting report and then lying about it. The city rejected his claim, but McDonald appealed.

On Feb. 20, 1988, McDonald allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl and then killed himself. About a week after his death, a Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board judge announced approval of McDonald’s claim. Later his family, contending that stress contributed to his death, sought additional compensation, including back pay and benefits.

On Tuesday, Seth Kelsey, attorney for McDonald’s first wife and two children, said, “I’m pleased that his dependent children are going to receive some of the compensation that he was awarded. . . .”

He added that McDonald’s death was brought on by a number of things.

“No one will ever be able to dispute that the criminal act that he did played a part, but no one can dispute the humiliation he suffered from being demoted and fired also played a part,” Kelsey said. “This is a tragic event for everybody, including the victim of the rape and a loss of the father for the children.”

However, City Atty. Edward J. Cooper said he did not believe the city was responsible for McDonald’s death.

“From our view, he did not commit suicide from work but because he raped a girl and was concerned about going to jail,” he said. “I’m not happy with the decision, but I think it had to be made that way. From my standpoint, a logical standpoint, I see no connection with being a police officer on the job and doing what Mr. McDonald did.”

McDonald’s trouble began in April, 1986, when he was demoted from sergeant to patrol officer after being accused of failing to submit a shooting incident report and then lying about that failure, charges he denied.

After his demotion, McDonald requested and received a 30-day disability leave. He was fired in July, 1986--he was notified during a session at his therapist’s office--for failing to report to work after his leave expired. McDonald claimed he did not realize the leave had expired and asked to be reinstated. His request was denied.

Then in February, 1988, McDonald abducted, handcuffed and raped a 14-year-old girl in his Riverside home, apparently after befriending her at a Newport Beach scuba diving class, where he worked after leaving the Police Department, police said. He then drove to the intersection of California 18 and California 330, near the mountain community of Running Springs, and shot himself with a .38-caliber revolver, police said.

Times staff writer Gebe Martinez contributed to this report.