The State - News from April 20, 1988

A civilian wounded during gunfire that killed one San Diego police officer and injured another will receive a settlement from Sagon Penn, the man who shot her three years ago. The city of San Diego will pay Sarah Pina-Ruiz $11,638 to cover her medical expenses and Penn will pay an unspecified amount, said San Diego Deputy City Atty. Gene Gordon. Pina-Ruiz was a civilian observer in a patrolman’s car when she was wounded by Penn in a shooting that his defense attorney successfully argued was self-defense. Two jury trials cleared Penn, 26, who is black, of charges stemming from the incident. His attorneys maintained that he feared for his life during a racially motivated struggle with the two white officers. “It’s my understanding that the amount being paid by (Penn) is considerably more than the city is settling for,” Gordon said.