City, County OK Funds to Settle Suits in Police Shootings

The city and county of Los Angeles approved payments totaling more than $1 million to settle lawsuits stemming from two separate police shootings, officials said Wednesday.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved payment of $925,000 in the lawsuit of Grover Smith of Northridge, a bystander shot in the leg nearly six years ago by officers with the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Special Investigations Section, who mistook him for a robbery suspect.

Smith’s attorney, Stephen Yagman, denied that the lawsuit is settled, and called the allocation “wishful thinking” by the council and city attorney’s office.

“I don’t respond to things the City Council does, and that includes wishful thinking,” Yagman said. “Mr. Smith’s case is scheduled for trial Nov. 12.” He would not say if Smith still lives in the area.

The county Board of Supervisors approved a settlement of $200,000 for the next-door neighbors of a Stevenson Ranch man killed in a fiery, Aug. 31, 2001, gun battle with federal agents and sheriff’s deputies. The law enforcement officials were trying to serve a search warrant on James Allen Beck, wanted on suspicion of impersonating a U.S. marshal and possessing weapons. Beck barricaded himself in his home and opened fire on the officers, killing Deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian.

Under the settlement, the county will pay $167,500 to Phil and Marilyn Lombardi, who were forced to hide in their bathroom with their day-old daughter, Gianna, after sheriff’s deputies mistook the Lombardi house for Beck’s, and fired more than 100 rounds into their home.

Phil Lombardi said the matter had been mediated a few months ago and he and his wife were “glad to be putting it all behind them and moving on.”

The county also approved payment of $32,500 to neighbor Steve Rizzo and his 4-year-old daughter, Taylor, who waited trapped in their home for several hours until authorities escorted them to safety.