Family of Man Slain by Police Files Suit

The family of an unarmed grandfather shot in the back by El Monte police during a SWAT raid in Compton last August filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against those cities and the veteran officer who fired the deadly rounds.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also accuses police officers of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Mario Paz, 65, as well as compounding their fatal error with a cover-up and witness intimidation.

“In my 37 years of practicing law, this case is perhaps one of the most egregious I’ve ever seen,” said Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the family’s attorney, who has handled dozens of police brutality cases. “The conduct of these officers was outrageous.”

Flanked by Paz’s widow, Maria Luisa Paz, and her children, Cochran said at a news conference in his office that he would be seeking “very substantial damages.”

He added that more than the money, the family hopes the federal government indicts the officers, including Sgt. George Hopkins, the veteran El Monte policeman who led the raid.

“My father was shot twice in the back as he was kneeling against his bed. . . . He posed no threat,” daughter Maria Derain told reporters.

The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the regional director of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission are investigating the Aug. 9 shooting.

El Monte officials declined comment Wednesday. “We have not seen the lawsuit yet,” said John A. Pilger, spokesman for the San Gabriel Valley city.

Compton officials didn’t return telephone calls.

Armed with a search warrant, Hopkins, 43, led a score of El Monte SWAT officers into Paz’s home during a late-night raid to seek evidence against an alleged drug dealer.

The Sheriff’s Department originally said Hopkins shot the grandfather of 14 twice in the back because he was believed to be armed.

But the lawsuit alleges that Paz, clad in his underwear, was kneeling with his hands resting on the bed. It says that Hopkins--clad in camouflage gear and a ski mask--stormed the house, knocked Paz’s son to the ground and rushed into the bedroom. There, Maria Luisa clung to the officer’s leg, begging for her husband’s life, the suit says.

After the shooting, family members heard a senior officer say, “I think we hit the wrong home,” the suit alleges.

“Mr. Paz thought his family was being robbed,” said Cochran, explaining Paz had withdrawn $10,000 from his Tijuana bank account that day, fearing Y2K problems.

Cochran, famous for his defense of O.J. Simpson, said police statements that Paz was reaching for a gun were part of a cover-up. He said a jury award to his clients would send a strong message against police abuse.

“This family represents families in this community,” he said. “If this family can’t be safe, no one can.”

El Monte police say they went to Paz’s home seeking evidence related to an alleged drug trafficker, who once lived next door. But they say no drugs were found and they have no evidence linking Paz to illegal narcotics.

In the shooting’s aftermath, authorities have given varying accounts, starting with the version that Paz was believed to be armed.

A few days later, a sheriff’s investigator said officers believed Paz was reaching for a gun. Then a third statement from the department said Paz was shot when he reached for a nearby drawer, where El Monte police said they found guns.

More recently, a coroner’s autopsy report quotes officers as saying that they shot Paz because he failed to “cease his furtive movements” while Maria Luisa Paz “tackled the lead officer.”

El Monte police say they recovered three pistols and a .22-caliber rifle from the Paz house. Family members said Wednesday the guns were for protection and were nowhere near the family patriarch at the time of his death.