Settlement Rejected for Deputy’s Family

Orange County officials have rejected a $2-million settlement sought by the family of a sheriff’s deputy shot to death by a fellow officer on Christmas Day three years ago.

The vote by a committee of three top county officials means the family of slain Deputy Darryn Leroy Robins will likely turn to the civil courts with one or more wrongful death suits, according to attorneys for the county and the family.

The committee, which reviews all claims greater than $50,000, ruled that “workers’ compensation should be the only remedy or recovery” in the Robins case, according to county claims manager Dennis Bunker.

Robins was killed by his partner, Brian P. Scanlan, during an impromptu training drill in a Lake Forest theater parking lot. According to official accounts, the partners were practicing traffic stops when Scanlan fired accidentally after Robins startled him by reaching for a weapon.

Orange County prosecutors concluded that Scanlan had been “grossly negligent” for using a loaded weapon during an exercise. The county grand jury, however, opted not to indict Scanlan on involuntary manslaughter charges.

Willie R. Barnes, the Los Angeles attorney representing Robin’s mother, Mildred Fisher, said Tuesday he was disappointed that the county turned down the settlement offer. The Robins family left the negotiation process feeling they had worked out a deal, only to be disappointed by the committee’s Nov. 8 decision.

The proposed settlement was brokered by attorneys for the family and the county counsel’s office. The proposal included more than $1.1 million in a lump sum payment, along with the purchase of an $875,000 annuity that could have paid the family as much as $5 million over their lifetimes, county officials have said.

The nature of the case, with the Robins family arguing that issues of liability and civil rights are included, made for a complex decision for the committee, Bunker said.

“The committee has never had a case just like this one,” Bunker said. “I didn’t really have a feeling for what they were going to do.”

The Robins family members have until March 17 to file wrongful death claims.