Family of Unarmed Man Killed by Officer Will Receive $250,000 : Damages: Judge orders Orange to pay the victim’s children, a day after the City Council rejected a settlement for the same amount.

One day after the Orange City Council rejected a $250,000 legal settlement with the family of an unarmed man killed by police, a judge Friday ordered the city to pay his children the same amount in damages.

Santa Ana Superior Court Judge Robert D. Monarch, presiding over an award hearing, ordered the city to pay $250,000 to the children of 27-year-old Ramon Ibarra, an Orange resident who was shot and killed by an officer responding to a domestic dispute more than two years ago.

“I think it was a fair amount to both sides,” said Greg Owen, attorney for Ibarra’s family. “Ramon Ibarra was not the nicest guy. He had a history of drug use, violence and did not contribute greatly to the family. So this is a very good award.”

Attorney Bruce D. Praet, who represented Police Officer Jeffrey Mundt and the city, said that “the award was for exactly the same amount, so we are no worse off than when we started.”

A Santa Ana Superior Court jury on Oct. 29 determined that Mundt used excessive force when he shot and killed Ibarra on July 9, 1990, while responding to the call at the Ibarra residence. Ibarra had gone into a drunken rage and threatened his wife.

When Mundt arrived at the Ibarra home, Ibarra verbally challenged the officer and threw two pieces of a broken fan at him, causing minor injuries. A week earlier, Mundt had responded to another domestic disturbance at the Ibarra residence, where Ibarra vowed to kill the officer the next time the two met.

Mundt claimed he fired his weapon because he mistakenly believed Ibarra had a gun. Many jurors said that while they felt Mundt was responsible, they did not believe the officer acted maliciously. Some jurors also said they felt Ibarra’s violent actions on the night of the shooting also led to the deadly confrontation.

Before jurors began hearing testimony to determine an award amount, Praet and Owen, who represented Ibarra’s five children and his common-law wife, reached a tentative settlement agreement for $250,000 in damages.

But the City Council, meeting in closed session Thursday, rejected the proposal.

“The council did not want to pay money to the children of a man who assaulted and threatened to kill a uniformed police officer,” Praet said. He added that the council did not want to send the message that “the offspring of violent criminals will be rewarded with settlement offers.”

Orange City Council members and the city manager referred a reporter’s telephone calls to Praet on Friday.

The Orange County district attorney’s office determined that the shooting was justified. Mundt remains on the Orange police force.

Ibarra’s common-law wife, Connie Owen, will not receive any of the settlement because common-law relationships are not recognized under state law, said attorney Greg Owen, who is not related to his client. The money will be placed in an account to be released to Ibarra’s children when they reach 18 years of age.