Sonoma County poised to weigh in on lawsuit in Andy Lopez’s death

For the second week in a row, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a discussion behind closed doors about the highest profile civil rights lawsuit lodged against the county, one brought by the family of Andy Lopez, the Santa Rosa teen shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in 2013.

The lawsuit, which has been winding its way through the federal court system for five years, alleges Lopez’s death resulted from a violation of constitutional limits on police authority, naming both the county and then-deputy Erik Gelhaus, now a sergeant, as defendants.

County officials have declined to say what they plan to discuss in the closed-session meeting on Tuesday. A board discussion about the Lopez family’s lawsuit was postponed from last week.

The meeting comes more than five months after the county lost its last battle to stave off a trial when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the county’s petition to give Gelhaus immunity from civil liability in the fatal shooting. That decision paved the way for a jury trial scheduled for July.

Board Chairman James Gore, who helps set the supervisors’ meeting agenda, insisted that even he was not fully briefed by the County Counsel’s Office on the purpose of Tuesday’s meeting.

“My sincere hope is that we’re in a position to do the right thing,” Gore said in a text message. “ I will make sure I provide comment when we come out of closed session and can talk more when I know more.”

As with most civil rights lawsuits alleging government misconduct, settlement talks have occurred between the two sides.

The amount of money at stake if the case is settled or decided in favor of Lopez’s parents is likely to be in the millions. This year alone, Sonoma County has paid $3.6 million to settle two civil rights lawsuits filed against the Sheriff’s Office.

Arnoldo Casillas, the attorney representing Lopez’s parents, Sujey Cruz and Rodrigo Lopez, won a previous jury verdict in a similar Los Angeles case - the boy was paralyzed in a shooting by law enforcement - that awarded his clients $24 million. The city appealed and a judge reduced the amount to ?$15 million.

Casillas did not respond to multiple interview requests last week.

Gelhaus, who was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in 2014 by District Attorney Jill Ravitch’s office, said he mistook the 13-year-old boy’s pellet gun for an assault rifle when he opened fire in the southwest Santa Rosa neighborhood.

The shooting became a flashpoint for police-community relations, sparking sustained protests and public debate about law enforcement practices. As a result, both the county and Santa Rosa created independent oversight programs for internal investigations into police shootings, use of force and complaints.

Sheriff’s officials, who have chafed under some of that independent oversight, have remained tight-lipped about the Lopez case, one of a number of lawsuits alleging misconduct in the county’s largest law enforcement agency.

Sgt. Spencer Crum, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman, declined to discuss the status of the Lopez family lawsuit and said he didn’t know what would be discussed at Tuesday’s closed-session meeting.

Supervisor Shirlee Zane declined to comment on whether the two sides were proceeding to trial or had reached a settlement.

“I can’t talk about it because it’s a legal negotiation,” she said Friday.

Supervisor Susan Gorin said she had “no idea what the parameters” of Tuesday’s discussion would be. She noted that supervisors have “had continuous meetings” on the Lopez case “for a number of years.”

Deputy County Counsel Petra Bruggisser declined to provide any information on the matter.

The county’s lawyers have mounted a vigorous defense, claiming Gelhaus acted within the law and in response to what he thought was an imminent threat to his own life when he fatally shot Lopez.

Gelhaus spotted the teen walking down a street in his Moorland Avenue neighborhood carrying what turned out to be an airsoft gun designed to look like an AK-47 rifle.

The airsoft gun, which was pointed to the ground as Lopez walked, did not have an orange tip indicating it was fake.

Gelhaus, a 24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, got out of his patrol car, ducked behind his passenger-side door and ordered Lopez to drop his weapon. Seconds after the command, Lopez began to turn toward Gelhaus, prompting the deputy to fire eight rounds at the boy. Lopez was struck seven times and died at the scene.

A five-month investigation by Ravitch’s office determined the shooting was lawful. But the wrongful death suit filed by Lopez’s parents alleges Gelhaus acted recklessly when he opened fired on their son. It accused the Sheriff’s Office and its leadership, including then-Sheriff Steve Freitas, of establishing policies that were “encouraging, accommodating, or ratifying” deputies’ use of deadly force. Lopez’s parents are seeking unspecified damages.

The prolonged legal battle has played out in a series of appeals, delaying the trial for about ?two years.

Some community members who helped shape ?the new law enforcement oversight agency at the county said they were hopeful that the two sides could reach a settlement that avoided an even more prolonged and bruising legal fight.

Evelyn Cheatham, who was part of a task force that helped create the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach after the Lopez shooting, said she believes a trial could reopen some of the community’s wounds felt after the shooting, most significantly within Lopez’s family.

“I wish them a very healthy settlement, a very healthy settlement because you can’t bring a child back,” Cheatham said.

In June, the county unveiled a new park on the blighted, vacant lot where Lopez was killed. The ?$3.7 million park contains a memorial to Lopez with photos and mementos of the boy as well as images from the community response to his death.

Staff Writer Martin Espinoza contributed reporting. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem. You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.