City Settles Lawsuit Over Alleged Beating

A 30-year-old Oxnard man who said he was beaten by a police officer agreed to drop a lawsuit against the city in exchange for $20,000.

Juan Lopez, now a prisoner at the county’s Todd Road Jail, had alleged that in January 1996, Oxnard Police Officer Rob Flinn beat him with a heavy metal flashlight after a short foot chase in the Colonia neighborhood.

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

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

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

After the verdict, Los Angeles attorney Samuel Paz filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lopez against the Oxnard Police Department, alleging excessive force.

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

The settlement included an agreement of confidentiality--apparently requested by attorneys for the cityso Paz would not say how much money was paid to Lopez.

But last week the city released details of the lawsuit, which stipulates that in exchange for $20,000, Lopez would drop all claims against the city and Flinn.

In early August, officials from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said that they were investigating the matter to see if Lopez’s civil rights were violated in the alleged beating.