Officer Barred From Suing Over Being Shot
A Pasadena police officer who was carelessly shot and wounded by a California Highway Patrol officer cannot sue for damages because of rules limiting suits by public safety officers, the state Supreme Court said.
The 6-1 decision overturned a $440,000 damage award for Eduardo Calatayud, who was shot by CHP Officer Michael Byrd while helping him subdue and arrest a suspect in 1990.
A jury found that Byrd and his partner acted negligently by trying to grab and control the suspect while holding shotguns. Byrd fell while pushing the suspect down, accidentally shooting Calatayud.
The state was ordered to pay damages to Calatayud.
But the court said Thursday that long-standing state law bars damage suits by police, fire and emergency medical workers who are injured on the job by someone’s negligence.
The rationale of the law is that such injuries are a risk of the job and are compensated by special disability benefits for safety officers, exceeding benefits for other workers.
A more recent state law allows a suit if the injury was deliberately caused or if it was inflicted by someone who knew, or had reason to know, that the officer was present.
That law was cited by lower courts in upholding Calatayud’s damages but the Supreme Court said it did not apply to his case.
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