Family seeks damages in civil suit

Danette Goulet

The family of the teenager who was shot by police in the Oak View

neighborhood in May say a prosecutor’s decision last week not to bring

criminal charges against the officer will not stop them from making him

pay in a civil trial.

Prosecutors for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office

determined that officer Mark Wersching did not act unreasonably when he

shot 18-year-old Saldivar, who was allegedly holding a toy rifle.

“We decided not to charge the police officer,” said Tori Richard, the

spokeswoman for the district attorneys office.

“We didn’t think it amounted to criminal conduct, what the police

officer did, because he felt his life was in danger.”

An officer since 1995, Wersching was searching for a crime suspect he

had been chasing through the Oak View neighborhood in the early morning

hours of May 5, when he came upon Saldivar.

Wersching contends he shouted at Saldivar in both English and Spanish

to raise his hands, but the teenager instead turned and pointed what

turned out to be a toy gun at him. Wersching shot and killed the youth.

In November, Saldivar’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit with the

U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

The family’s attorney, Timothy A. Black, said the family feels that

his civil rights were violated and that they deserve to be compensated.

The family doubts the officer’s story that their son was even holding the

gun.

“Somebody who had committed no crime has no reason to pick up a toy

gun and point it at an officer with a loaded weapon -- the police version

just doesn’t make any sense,” Black said. “We have no evidence that he

was carrying the gun. There were no fingerprints. It wasn’t even his.

There would be no reason to have the gun, let alone pick it up.”

Black contends the family has a strong case despite prosecutors

findings last week.

“The burden of proof is much different in a criminal than civil

proceeding and we are confident that we will more than meet our burden

and prove that Antonio Saldivar’s civil rights were violated,” Black

said.

Neal Moore, the attorney retained to represent Mark Wersching and the

city filed an answer Monday and expects a court will call the case for

scheduling sometime in the next month. He expects the case will not be

heard until sometime next year.

Although neither Moore nor the city have yet seen the investigators

report, he holds that Wersching’s actions were justifiable.

“I haven’t seen all the evidence but I certainly believe Mark

Wersching, that he was holding a gun and there were plenty of people who

heard him tell him to drop the gun in both English and Spanish,” Moore

said.

* DANETTE GOULET is the assistant city editor. She can be reached at

(714) 965-7170 or by e-mail at o7 danette.goulet@latimes.comf7 .