Family Receives $1 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The family of a man killed three years ago during a struggle with a Fontana police officer has received a wrongful death settlement for $1 million, according to an article published in Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
The article states that Randy Jon Perchez Jr., who was 22 years old when he died, was shot by Officer Richard Guerrero during the incident on Feb. 20, 2004.
According to federal documents cited in the article, U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson criticized Guerrero and the Fontana Police Department saying that Guerrero had been investigated seven times before this incident for excessive use of force. The judge also chastised the department because senior officials had a track record of rarely disciplining officers for excessive force.
Perchez's mother, Cathy Olivas, received $825,000 and his father, Randy Perchez Sr., got $175,000 in a settlement last month, according to court papers. The amount awarded to Perchez's family was the highest among four cases of officer-involved shootings since 2000 that the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office considered unjustified.
The incident began after Fontana patrol and gang officers approached a group of suspected gang members in the 14100 block of Chaparral Avenue, according to another article in the As an officer attempted to detain the two men, a struggle between the officer and Perchez over the officer's flashlight ensued, and Perchez was fatally shot. Officers called for medical aid, but Perchez was pronounced dead by paramedics. Guerrero told investigators he shot Perchez over fear for his safety, as he did not know whether the man was armed, police said. Fontana police commissioned a study in January 2002 in the wake of two officer-involved shootings and three in-custody deaths. No criminal charges were filed in any of the cases. Excessive force in police departments tends to be a systemic problem. It stems from a lack of supervision and guidance on the part of senior officers, a lack of enforcement of department rules and a tolerance and sometimes encouragement of violent prone officers. Several police departments these days are training their officers in what is known as “verbal judo,” where officers learn to defuse a potentially sensitive or violent situation by just talking to the suspect. Being a police officer in America has got to be one of the most difficult jobs on the planet. They have to know when to use deadly force and when not to. They need to protect themselves and their suspects. They need to respond quickly and accurately in extremely stressful situations for their entire shift. And they need to go home safe and sane from a days work, knowing they will be at it again the next day. As a society we need to appreciate and praise our good officers, require highly professional supervision and leadership for them, understand the daily challenges they face, provide them the tools to face those challenges and enforce the law quickly and fully against any officer violating department policy, violating suspects rights or braking the law themselves. As a society, when our police officers violate the rights of our populace, the officers and their supervisors need to be held fully accountable.
