Peter Varela v. City of Rialto, Officer Ken Bigos, and Officer William Bussey
Published: Jun. 25, 1994 | Result Date: Jun. 3, 1994 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 250572 – $0
Judge
Court
San Bernardino Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Alan W. Weinberger M.D.
(medical)
Frank H. Saunders
(technical)
Defendant
Marcelline Burns
(medical)
Joseph J. Callanan Jr.
(technical)
Facts
On October 23, 1988, at approximately 4:15 a.m., a Rialto citizen observed Plaintiff Peter Varela, a 18-year-old unemployed man, getting out of a car parked in front of his residence. At that time, he heard someone ask Plaintiff Varela what he was doing. Plaintiff said he was "getting the Uzi." The citizen then observed Plaintiff open the trunk of the car and remove what appeared to be a machine gun. The citizen then dialed 911 and reported the incident. Approximately 10 minutes later, Defendant Officers Ken Bigos and William Bussey of the Rialto Police Department approached the car with their guns drawn. Defendant Officer Bussey fired two rounds. A sample was taken of Plaintiff Varela's blood which showed a blood alcohol level of .17. His blood was also re-analyzed approximately one year after the incident which revealed that he also had cocaine in his system at the time. The City of Rialto was also named as a Defendant.
Settlement Discussions
Defendants contend they offered $75,000 and Plaintiff demanded $225,000.
Specials in Evidence
$39,758 $2,000
Injuries
Collapsed lung requiring emergency surgery; partial loss of spleen requiring splenectomy; residual liver damage.
Deliberation
3.5 hours
Poll
12-0
Length
5 days
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