By Cindy Von Quednow
Ventura County Star
OXNARD, Calif. — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against three Oxnard police officers involved in the shooting of a mentally ill man in 2012, officials said Thursday.
The judge ordered the dismissal last week after the man’s father, Edward Mahoney, chose to not continue with the case, said Jeff Held, an attorney for the Law Offices of Wisotsky, Procter and Shyer. The firm defended the city, police department and three officers against the lawsuit, filed by the family last August in federal court.
Michael Mahoney was fatally shot by three Oxnard police officers on Aug. 14, 2012, after he pointed a modified flare gun at them, officials said.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office in May cleared the officers, saying the shooting was justifiable.
The DA’s report said Oxnard police saw Mahoney holding a handgun to his head as he stood on the front porch of his home on South H Street. According to the report, Mahoney refused demands to drop the gun. He ran into his home, and police said they heard a gunshot.
Mahoney then came back outside with a flare gun and a knife. He held the gun to his head and said he had loaded it with a shotgun shell. The report says he challenged officers to shoot him and pointed the weapon at them in a threatening manner. He then fired the gun at police, and officers Joseph Bentley, David McAlpine and Manuel Perez fired back, police reported.
The DA’s report said the shooting “reflects both the tragedy of mental illness and the inherent difficulties law enforcement faces in dealing with the mentally ill, particularly when they arm themselves with dangerous weapons.”
Mahoney’s sister, Tara Mahoney, has said her brother was severely ill at the time. She said her brother had suffered from numerous ailments, including schizophrenia and anxiety, and was not armed when police shot him.
The dismissal of the lawsuit means an end to legal action against the city over the case, and the city agreed to not seek attorneys’ fees from the plaintiffs, attorneys said.
Copyright 2015 Ventura County Star