City agrees to pay family $2.25 million

Jenny Marder

The city has agreed to pay $2.25 million to the family of a man who

was shot and killed by a Huntington Beach police officer two years

ago, closing the book on a heart-wrenching case of mistaken identity.

Antonio Saldivar, 18, was fatally shot by Huntington Beach Police

Officer Mark Wersching on May 5, 2001, during an early morning foot

chase through Huntington’s Oak View area. The officer allegedly

mistook Saldivar for a suspect that police were chasing through the

neighborhood at the time and confused a toy rifle for a real gun that

he said the teenager was pointing at him.

“I have mixed feelings,” said Ray Brown, the lead trial attorney

for the Saldivar family, of the outcome. “Intellectually, I know that

it’s an excellent result. But when you look at it emotionally, this

is an 18-year-old kid, and they’re paying for the loss of his life.

There’s no way you can put a price tag on that.”

The jury awarded $2.1 million to Saldivar’s family in May, when it

determined that Wersching violated Saldivar’s civil rights and acted

unreasonably when he shot and killed the 18-year-old.

The city was hoping to appeal to reduce the verdict by $1 million,

but chose instead to settle at $2.25 million, which is higher than

the jury award because of the addition of attorney fees and interest.

The settlement covers $1 million for loss of life, $1 million for

the family’s loss, $100,000 funeral expenses and $150,000 for a

portion of the family’s attorney’s fees and interest accrued before

the judgment.

The city also paid $450,000 to settle two other police misconduct

allegations involving Wersching. Both incidents involved charges of

civil rights violations and the use of excessive force.

Deputy City Atty. Scott Field insists that Wersching acted fairly

in both instances.

In one, Wersching was accused of using excessive force in an

arrest that involved several underage men with a case of beer in

their truck. The court ruled in his favor. The second case involved

charges against another officer that Wersching was working with.

In the Saldivar case, prosecutors argued that the teen couldn’t

possibly have been pointing a gun at Wersching, as the officer

alleged, since all of the bullet wounds were found in the his back

and side.

“I think it’s wonderful that the jury could see through

everything,” Brown said. “Eight ordinary people, when they look at

the evidence, they can see that there’s something going wrong here.

Obviously, there’s some severe wrongdoing.”

Regardless of where the gun was pointed, the officer felt

threatened, Field said.

“Mr. Saldivar had a toy gun,” Field said. “We could argue about

whether he was pointing it exactly at the officer or at an angle. ...

When you point a rifle at close range to an officer, he has to make a

split-second decision. And from his perspective, it was either shoot

or be shot.”

City attorneys were very disappointed with the verdict, Field

said.

“We thought the officer had acted properly,” he said. “When

confronted with a rifle at close range, [Wersching] had no choice but

to respond with force.”

Wersching was cleared of wrongdoing by the FBI, the Orange County

Sheriff’s Department and the Huntington Beach Police Department. He

is working as an investigator in the department.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. Janet Perez could not comment on

whether Wersching would serve again on the streets.

Gil Coerper, a Huntington Beach city councilman and a retired

police officer, said that despite the lawsuits, he is confident that

Wersching should still be a part of the police force.

“Being a police officer, you’re subjected to a lot of things

coming up in a split second,” Coerper said. “I don’t see where Mark

Wersching has caused a major problem within the city. I think he’s

one hell of an outstanding officer, and I don’t think he’s a

liability to the city.”