Inmate Awaits Settlement in Brutality Case

Still in jail serving a four-month sentence for a probation violation, a 30-year-old Oxnard man is getting ready to collect thousands of dollars from the city to settle a police brutality case he brought against an Oxnard officer.

Meanwhile, officials with the U.S. Justice Department said the agency has begun a civil rights investigation into the alleged beating.

Juan Lopez, now at the county’s Todd Road Jail near Santa Paula, had accused Oxnard Police Officer Rob Flinn with beating him to the ground with a flashlight after a short foot chase in the city’s Colonia neighborhood in January 1996.

Flinn, who has been described by his superiors and fellow officers as an exceptional policeman, was later charged by the district attorney with using excessive force against Lopez and another man, Victor Aguiar.

In March, after a weeks-long trial, a jury acquitted Flinn on two counts of assault and deadlocked in favor of acquittal on two other counts. Prosecutors decided not to retry the case.

Jurors said later they did not find Lopez--an admitted heroin user and convicted petty criminal--to be a credible witness.

After the verdict, Samuel Paz, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney, took up Lopez’s cause and filed a lawsuit against the Oxnard Police Department, alleging excessive force.

In June the city decided to confidentially settle the Lopez lawsuit out of court.

“It was for a substantial sum,” said Paz, who declined to elaborate.

The settlement included an agreement of confidentiality--apparently requested by attorneys for the city of Oxnard. Consequently, Paz said he was prohibited from saying how much money was paid to Lopez.

Asked what his client would do with the influx of cash when released in September, Paz said, “I hope he takes a long vacation.”

Lopez’s mother, Lola Sanchez, said her son since the incident has been afraid of the police. Adding to that fear, she said, is that Flinn has returned at work.

“That’s what has Juanito so upset and stressed,” Sanchez said. “That’s why we’re trying to move out of the Colonia. I don’t know but it just seems every time he gets out, there are police around stopping him for something.”

Lopez, who was temporarily out of jail Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning so he could see a dentist, could not be reached for comment.

William Hadden, who defended Flinn in the criminal case, said he was not aware of the settlement or the investigation.

“Frankly, I find that disgusting that they would pay him anything,” he said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Jonathan Shapiro confirmed Tuesday that his office, with the help of FBI investigators, was looking into the alleged beating, but would not comment further.

Oxnard City Atty. Gary Gillig was on vacation Tuesday, and Oxnard police officials referred all questions on the department and Flinn to Alan Wisotsky, a private attorney who represents the city.

“I cannot disclose the terms of the confidential agreement ordered by the court,” Wisotsky said. “Absent some release from the court . . . or my client [the city of Oxnard], I can’t breach that agreement.”

Police insiders confirmed federal investigators had been inspecting Flinn’s personnel file.

“It’s a matter of routine whenever anything like this happens,” one source said. “They look at the file and then evaluate whether to take any further action.”