L.A. Pays $675,000 to Man Paralyzed by Police Gunfire : Litigation: The City Council settles the $10-million civil rights suit of a North Hills resident who was shot when officers tried to detain him in 1988.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday awarded $675,000 to a San Fernando Valley man who was paralyzed after being hit by a shotgun blast fired by one of two female police officers who tried to detain him in 1988.

The action settles a $10-million federal Civil Rights Act lawsuit filed against the city by Jaime Cardona, 29, of North Hills. Cardona’s lawsuit alleged that he was wrongfully shot by Officer Peggy Moseley.

Two retired judges advised the city that it would lose the Cardona case if it went to trial, according to a report by the city attorney’s office.

During a trial, expert witnesses for the plaintiff would testify that the officers had no justification to use deadly force against Cardona and that a “shotgun was the wrong weapon to use in this situation,” the report said.

The council approved the settlement without discussion.

Cardona was struck by a 12-gauge shotgun blast fired by Moseley on March 23, 1988, as Moseley and Officer Jayme Weaver sought to question him after receiving a complaint that he had been brandishing a gun near Parthenia Place and Columbus Avenue.

When officers arrived, witnesses told them that a man driving a yellow car was the gunman. Officers soon spotted a car that fit the description and chased it. The officers followed Cardona in their patrol car, with lights flashing, for a few minutes before he stopped in the rear parking lot of his apartment building in the 8700 block of Parthenia Place, according to the police.

When Cardona got out of his car, the officers pointed their guns at him. According to the officers, Cardona walked quickly toward Weaver and was ordered to stop. Cardona continued to advance toward her and was shot as he tried to wrest Weaver’s handgun away from her, police said.

“I was in fear for my safety at that point,” Weaver later testified in a criminal case against Cardona.

Moseley fired the crippling shot from a distance of about 12 inches, according to the city attorney report.

A shotgun was later found in the trunk of Cardona’s car. But several witnesses said Cardona did not make any threatening movements toward the officers, the report said.

Cardona later was charged with assaulting the officers, but a San Fernando Superior Court deadlocked on the charge in June, 1990.

The shotgun injuries severed Cardona’s spine and destroyed one of his kidneys, according to the city attorney report.

Cardona, who could not be reached for comment on the settlement, now uses a colostomy bag and has no bowel control. He requires care 24 hours a day and his lifetime loss of earnings will be a minimum of $500,000, the report said.

Both officers are still on the force, and Assistant City Atty. Philip J. Sugar refused to comment on whether they were disciplined for their role in the incident.