THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504060328
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Two weeks after a jury ruled against his million-dollar lawsuit, Ronald Duck, the bystander shot last year by a police officer, is asking the City Council to compensate him.
On Tuesday, the City Council refused to do so, citing - among other factors - the fact that Duck, a 38-year-old unemployed custodian, turned down a $75,000 settlement offer before the trial.
A jury ruled March 23 that the shooting was an accident - not excessive force or gross negligence - and, therefore, Duck was entitled to nothing.
Now, Duck's family says the City Council should do the honorable thing and pay the shooting victim.
``The council has the power to compensate my brother, no matter what's been decided in court,'' said Duck's younger brother, James Duck.
But Councilman Herbert Collins, who passed Duck's request to the City Council, said Duck may be out of luck.
``I'm sympathetic with him and I'm terribly sorry,'' Collins said Tuesday night, ``but we do have a process. . . He probably should have come to us first and we could have instructed (City Attorney Philip) Trapani to make a settlement before the trial.''
The City Council discussed Duck's request in closed session Tuesday.
On Wednesday, James Duck said his brother will take his case directly to the council next week, in public session.
``The bottom line is the city has shot a man - by accident or intentionally, does it matter? What's right is right,'' James Duck said.
Last week, Trapani issued a one-sentence statement: ``The city's legal response is the matter has been concluded.''
But a member of the jury, who asked to remain anonymous, said Wednesday, ``There's no doubt in my mind someone should pay his bills, not him.''
The controversy began on June 2 when Police Officer Miles Warren shot Ronald Duck while Duck was standing in his front yard talking to a next-door neighbor.
The officer was investigating a shooting at a nearby bar. He said he tripped and his gun went off accidentally. Duck, however, said the officer stood on his front lawn, lifted the gun with both hands, aimed and fired.
Both sides agreed that Duck was not a suspect, did not have a weapon and did not make any menacing moves when he was shot through the shoulder. He spent four days in a hospital. His medical bills totaled $6,000.
Warren was suspended for one week, then reinstated. A police review board found the shooting was an accident.
Duck sued the officer and the city for $1 million. Later, the city was dropped as a defendant because it has government immunity, meaning it cannot be sued, even for gross negligence.
The day before the trial, the city offered Duck $75,000, but he turned down the offer. James Duck said the offer was too low.
The trial lasted three days. In the end, Magistrate Judge William Prince told jurors that Duck could not get damages unless he proved that the shooting was intentional - the result of excessive force during a seizure - or that the officer was guilty of ``gross negligence,'' or complete disregard for human life.
By law, a police officer cannot be held liable for simple negligence - an accident - in the course of duty.
The jury deliberated one hour, then ruled against Duck. Minutes later, James Duck said, ``The jury felt it was an accidental shooting. Me and my family and Ron, we accept that.''
Now, James Duck says the City Council should give his brother $250,000. ``I mean, you can slip on the floor in city hall and get something,'' he said.
Duck's lawyer, Jeremiah A. Denton III, is not involved with Duck's request to the City Council, but said, ``I think it's an absolute inversion of the concept of justice when a government entity itself causes an injury and you can't recover.''
Councilman Collins said he is sympathetic, but, ``We rely on the opinion of the city attorney. Right off the top of my head, I don't know what he (Duck) can do besides appeal.''
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL RONALD DUCK ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING by CNB