Damages Awarded in Slaying by Deputy

A federal jury Thursday awarded $750,000 to the family of a Rowland Heights man who was killed by an intoxicated, off-duty sheriff’s deputy.

The district attorney’s office has declined to file criminal charges against Deputy Thomas Kirsh and the Sheriff’s Department has not yet made a decision on whether the 1994 shooting was justified.

“It’s outrageous that Kirsh has never been prosecuted and is still on duty,” said Carol Watson, attorney for the family of John Huffman, the victim.

Watson claimed that the Sheriff’s Department policy of encouraging off-duty deputies to carry weapons at all times led to the shooting of Huffman, 29. She also contended that the department has failed to investigate more than a dozen off-duty shootings by deputies involving alcohol over the past five years.

After the verdict, one juror who requested anonymity expressed concern that Kirsh never was charged with a crime.

“We can’t understand why he’s free,” the juror said.

The Sheriff’s Department issued a brief statement after the verdict: “It would be inappropriate to make any comment until we see the entire wording of the verdict.”

Huffman’s grandmother, June Eiler, said she hopes the verdict sends a strong message to county officials.

“If [Kirsh] had been prosecuted, I don’t think we even would have filed this lawsuit,” she said. “But we had to find justice somewhere.”

Huffman, a car salesman, was shot outside a Rowland Heights restaurant bar after a scuffle with Kirsh. Huffman died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

The Sheriff’s Department and Watson presented dramatically different shooting scenarios.

Watson said Huffman talked with Kirsh at the restaurant’s bar. Huffman, a championship wrestler in high school, said he was willing to bet that he could “take down” Kirsh, who he did not know was a deputy.

Later, she said, as Huffman was leaving the bar, Kirsh stopped in the bathroom and took his gun from his boot and stuffed it into his belt. Forensic evidence, she said, showed that the gun was placed directly against Huffman’s chest when he was shot.

Kirsh, who settled his portion of the lawsuit last year for $300,000, claimed that he was knocked down when he walked out the door. He said his gun came out of his belt and discharged when he grabbed it.

About two hours after the shooting, Kirsh had a blood-alcohol level of 0.21, more than double the legal limit for driving. Huffman had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 and had a trace of cocaine in his bloodstream.

Kirsh, a 24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, is still assigned to the arson/explosives detail.