4 Bullets Hit Man Linked to Officer’s Death : Findings: Newport police, commenting on coroner’s report, maintain man committed suicide. Family files $10-million claim.

NEWPORT BEACH —  A man who police said fatally shot a Newport Beach police officer before killing himself suffered four bullet wounds--two to the head and two to his left wrist, according to a coroner’s report, and family members who have filed a $10-million claim against the city.

The parents of Carlos Caicedo, 24, charge that police “unlawfully, negligently and wrongfully” shot and killed their son, causing them emotional distress, mental and physical pain and insomnia, according to the claim filed earlier this month.

Officer Robert Henry was found lying under Caicedo in a church parking lot March 12 when other officers responded to reports of gunfire. Henry, 30, went into a coma and died about a month later.

Police and prosecutors said emphatically Thursday that the parents’ claim has no foundation.

“It makes us sick,” said Police Chief Robert J. McDonell, who called the claim “absurd.”

Caicedo’s parents contend their son did not commit suicide, that he was shot by someone else.

“The police version [of the shooting] is so unbelievable,” said Caicedo’s mother, Mary Caicedo. “They said that he committed suicide, but how can someone who kills himself shoot himself four times, including two [bullets] in the head?”

Police confirmed that a coroner’s autopsy report showed Caicedo had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, but they said they were inflicted by Caicedo himself. Earlier, police had said only that Caicedo died of a gunshot wound to the head and that the number of bullet wounds he suffered were unknown until the release of the coroner’s report this week.

Caicedo’s father, also named Carlos, said Thursday that he noticed something when he was dressing his son for burial that was not in the coroner’s report. The son’s right arm appeared to be broken and the right hand was “badly mangled,” he said. The coroner’s report did not mention any major injuries to Caicedo’s right hand or arm.

“There is nothing logical about the police version of the shooting,” Carlos Caicedo said. “They have told a story that is difficult to believe.”

On Thursday, Sgt. Andy Gonis said, “Caicedo shot Henry and then committed suicide. That is our conclusion.”

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The two shots to Caicedo’s left wrist were fired accidentally from his own gun during the confrontation, said Christopher Evans, the Orange County supervising district attorney in charge of the investigation.

“One shot [above the right earlobe] had been a grazing shot during his effort to kill himself,” Evans said. “After he tried and failed with the grazing shot, he retrieved Officer Henry’s gun and finished himself off. The bottom line is Officer Henry did not fire any of the shots.”

Gonis said the city attorney plans to “vigorously defend” any legal action against the department.

“This has been a very painful event for many people,” Gonis said. “But there is just absolutely no foundation for the claim.”

Henry’s father, Bill Henry, said the complaint was “ludicrous” and declined further comment.

Detectives said they found a suicide note, written in Spanish, on a night stand at the younger Caicedo’s home. Further investigation revealed that he had been despondent over a custody battle involving his 4-year-old son and that he might have been drinking before the shooting, authorities said.

The Caicedos dispute there is a suicide note. They said the letter seized by investigators is a poem written by Caicedo to express love for his family.

Richard Gutierrez, the family’s attorney, said the parents just want answers, which they are not getting from investigators.

The parents said they have suffered emotionally and financially because they relied on their son to negotiate contracts for the family’s janitorial business. They seek $10 million in damages, which Gutierrez admits is “an arbitrary amount and has no basis whatsoever.”

Both Gutierrez and Newport Beach City Atty. Robert Burnham said they think the claim will be denied.

The family has no intention of suing the city, Gutierrez said, adding that they filed a claim only to get police to answer questions about their son’s death and to hand over an investigation report.

Caicedo’s mother said police have refused to answer any questions about the shooting and never told the family that her son had been shot four times. The family did not learn of the multiple bullet wounds until they retrieved Caicedo’s body, the mother said.

“We only want the truth and [to] prosecute the man who killed my son,” Mary Caicedo said.

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City officials said the parents’ contention that they filed a claim to help them get a police report “doesn’t make sense.”

“Filing a claim doesn’t help you get a report,” Burnham said. “What would help is a public-information request. To my knowledge, there has never been a request for any kind of report.”

Carlos Caicedo, the father, said police have refused to answer any questions or provide copies of the investigative reports.

Claims are sometimes precursors to lawsuits against government entities such as a police department, Burnham said. And claims involving deaths must be filed within six months, he said.

Burnham said he has ordered another investigation into the shooting to be used to defend the city. That investigation has not been completed.

“At this point, I think there’s nothing more for us to do,” Burnham said.