Taxpayers deserve more

The book was closed on a tragic case last week when the city agreed

to pay $2.25 million to the family of 18-year-old Antonio Saldivar,

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

years ago.

But though the book may be closed, a poignant question remains:

Are taxpayers footing the bill for an expensive lesson that no one is

actually learning from?

A federal jury awarded $2.1 million to the family of Saldivar, who

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.

That panel of men and women deliberated for about four hours

before reaching the decision to award the family $1 million to

compensate them for the loss of his life, $1 million for loss of his

comfort, and $100,000 in lost financial support and to reimburse them

for funeral expenses.

It was a strong decision. Wersching, however, is still on the

force. Prosecutors found, in January 2002, that Wersching would not

face criminal charges and did not act unreasonably.

How can the two legal forces look at the same evidence and reach

such different conclusions? Something is amiss here.

The Police Department says Wersching did nothing wrong, that he

acted reasonably for the circumstances. And so he continues in his

duties.

But the implication of such a ruling is difficult to ignore. Isn’t

there something wrong -- with the system, with police training or

with attitudes on the force?

Yet no change has come about due to this tragedy, no lessons

learned. Still, residents and taxpayers are paying dearly for that

case of mistaken identity.

It seems taxpayers should get something for their money. They

should know that they are also paying for assurances that the police

are doing everything they can to make sure such a terrible event

never happens again.

The taxpayers deserve that. Saldivar’s family deserves it. And so

does the family of the person who, the next time, survives a similar

encounter with the police.