Widow Sues in Shooting : Law Enforcement: Survivor of activist Paul Reynolds names county, county sheriff and deputy who shot her husband outside gas station.

The widow of Cardiff activist Paul Reynolds has filed a wrongful-death suit against the county, Sheriff Jim Roache and the deputy who shot and killed her husband outside a 24-hour gas station in February.

Jeanette Reynolds’ lawsuit in federal court, asking $10 million, claims that Sheriff’s Department’s rules and regulations over the use of force create an “atmosphere of lawlessness in which police officers employ excessive and illegal force and violence, including deadly force, in the belief that such acts will be condoned and justified by their superiors.”

The suit also alleges that the Sheriff’s Department has been withholding the findings of its internal investigation into the fatal shooting.

In response to the suit, sheriff’s spokesman Dan Greenblat said the accusation of an “atmosphere of lawlessness” is “baseless attorney hype designed to create as much media play as possible.”

He also said the department “never withholds information that is appropriate for release.”

“There has been an ongoing investigation and, once that information is complete, if it is a personnel matter the state precludes us from commenting anyway,” Greenblat said.

Deputy Jeffrey Jackson confronted Reynolds, a 44-year-old unemployed electronics engineer, at about 1 a.m. on Feb. 18 near a gas station on Birmingham Avenue. According to sheriff’s reports, Reynolds was acting erratically and brandishing a marlin spike, which is a small knife used by fishermen and sailors to part strands of heavy rope.

Jackson reportedly ordered Reynolds to drop the spike and lie on the pavement. Reynolds complied but then, deputies said, he grabbed the spike and swung it at a deputy. Jackson fired one shot, hitting Reynolds in the neck.

Reynolds, who served as vice president of the Cardiff Town Council, was an avid surfer, swimmer and sailor who took medication for a form of manic depression, Jeanette Reynolds told The Times in February.

“My client’s husband was a respected member of the community who had a long reputation for nonviolence,” said Tom Adler, Jeanette Reynolds’ attorney. “The way the arrest occurred, according to newspaper accounts and the press release issued by the Sheriff’s Department, on the face of it showed that it was an unjustified shooting.”

Adler said he has had to rely on newspaper accounts for details because authorities have been unwilling to release information.

The Sheriff’s Department has shown a “callous disregard for (Jeannette Reynolds’) emotional rights, her legal right to know,” Adler said.

The case sparked disbelief in Cardiff, where Reynolds was known as a quiet, hard-working man who was deeply involved in community issues. Although his manic depression often filled Reynolds with energy, friends and neighbors said he was never known to be violent or confrontational.

Toxicology tests showed no measurable amount of alcohol or drugs in Reynolds’ system, although their was a trace of lithium, an anti-depressant.

The district attorney’s office is also investigating the case, spokeswoman Linda Miller said.