kingkilburn
07-10-2009, 06:22 PM
Woman shot by police sues Fresno
She was hit as officers confronted boyfriend.
Published online on Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009
By Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
A Fresno woman has sued the city in federal court, accusing a police officer of shooting her for no reason at a New Year's Day party.
Fresno police have said an officer shot Gabrielle Rodriguez unintentionally. He fired at the woman's boyfriend, who was reaching for a semi-automatic handgun, and one bullet struck her, police said. Officers said they found the gun nearby.
But Rodriguez's lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno gives a different account.
The lawsuit publicly identifies Robert Chavez as the officer who shot the couple. It says that neither Rodriguez nor her boyfriend, Danny Hernandez, was armed. And the suit alleges that neither Chavez nor officer Derek Avila identified themselves as police before Chavez recklessly fired his gun in an apartment with women and children nearby.
"Police shot an innocent bystander," said San Francisco attorney Michael Bracamontes, who represents Rodriguez. "It was an unreasonable use of excessive force. We have the police reports to prove it."
Rodriguez, 20, is seeking damages for medical bills, emotional distress and lost wages as a retail-sales clerk.
Chavez, a four-year veteran of the Fresno Police Department, is a patrol officer in the central district.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday that "it's unfortunate that Ms. Rodriguez was shot."
However, the chief said, "it was the actions of her boyfriend, Danny Hernandez, that forced the officer to fire his weapon."
The couple were shot inside an apartment on East Princeton Avenue in central Fresno early on Jan. 1.
After the shooting, Dyer told reporters that police went to the apartment in response to a call of a gang member waving a handgun and shooting into the air.
Hernandez was outside the apartment when he saw the two officers, Dyer said. He then ran into the apartment with both officers in pursuit, Dyer said.
Rodriguez was standing next to Hernandez in the living room when he reached into his waistband, which held a semi-automatic handgun, the chief said at the time.
"One of the officers, fearing for his safety, fired two rounds, striking Hernandez in the shoulder and hip area," Dyer said after the shooting. "Both rounds went through, and one of the rounds struck Hernandez's girlfriend in the lower abdomen."
After Hernandez was wounded, a handgun fell to the ground and was recovered by police, Dyer said.
The lawsuit, however, contends that Hernandez saw two men in dark clothing pointing guns at his face -- guns with flashlights attached in a fashion "similar to those used by gang members in the area."
Fearing he was going to be shot, Hernandez ran into the apartment, where he and Rodriguez were shot without warning or provocation, the lawsuit said.
A Fresno police report says Chavez and Avila did not see Hernandez with a firearm.
The report says Avila and Chavez both said "stop, police" when they confronted Hernandez outside the apartment. It says Chavez told Hernandez "stop, police" inside the apartment. But according to the officer who wrote the report, Avila said: "Everything else happened so fast, no other commands were given until after the shooting took place."
In the report, Chavez said he fired his weapon because Hernandez "was reaching toward his waistband" and he believed "the suspect was going to shoot him and his partner, causing serious injury or death."
After the shooting, Dyer said Hernandez has Bulldog gang tattoos, associates with gang members and has been convicted of several crimes, including domestic violence, possession of drugs for sale, burglary and auto theft.
Court records show that Hernandez was charged with several felonies in connection with the New Year's Day incident, including resisting arrest, possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Fresno defense attorney Roberto Dulce, who is representing Hernandez, said his client wasn't armed when he was shot.
Dulce said that Hernandez's trial is pending because he is still waiting for test results from the gun that the two officers recovered.
"I don't think they will find his fingerprints or DNA on the gun or gunshot residue [from his hands], because it's not my client's gun," Dulce said Wednesday.
Regardless of whether Hernandez was armed, Rodriguez remains an innocent victim, Bracamontes said.
After being shot, Rodriguez said she was hospitalized for a week and underwent two surgeries.
She said she has trouble walking and lifting things and suffers from depression, anxiety and fear.
"These feelings will never go away," she said.
I love Fresno.
She was hit as officers confronted boyfriend.
Published online on Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009
By Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
A Fresno woman has sued the city in federal court, accusing a police officer of shooting her for no reason at a New Year's Day party.
Fresno police have said an officer shot Gabrielle Rodriguez unintentionally. He fired at the woman's boyfriend, who was reaching for a semi-automatic handgun, and one bullet struck her, police said. Officers said they found the gun nearby.
But Rodriguez's lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno gives a different account.
The lawsuit publicly identifies Robert Chavez as the officer who shot the couple. It says that neither Rodriguez nor her boyfriend, Danny Hernandez, was armed. And the suit alleges that neither Chavez nor officer Derek Avila identified themselves as police before Chavez recklessly fired his gun in an apartment with women and children nearby.
"Police shot an innocent bystander," said San Francisco attorney Michael Bracamontes, who represents Rodriguez. "It was an unreasonable use of excessive force. We have the police reports to prove it."
Rodriguez, 20, is seeking damages for medical bills, emotional distress and lost wages as a retail-sales clerk.
Chavez, a four-year veteran of the Fresno Police Department, is a patrol officer in the central district.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday that "it's unfortunate that Ms. Rodriguez was shot."
However, the chief said, "it was the actions of her boyfriend, Danny Hernandez, that forced the officer to fire his weapon."
The couple were shot inside an apartment on East Princeton Avenue in central Fresno early on Jan. 1.
After the shooting, Dyer told reporters that police went to the apartment in response to a call of a gang member waving a handgun and shooting into the air.
Hernandez was outside the apartment when he saw the two officers, Dyer said. He then ran into the apartment with both officers in pursuit, Dyer said.
Rodriguez was standing next to Hernandez in the living room when he reached into his waistband, which held a semi-automatic handgun, the chief said at the time.
"One of the officers, fearing for his safety, fired two rounds, striking Hernandez in the shoulder and hip area," Dyer said after the shooting. "Both rounds went through, and one of the rounds struck Hernandez's girlfriend in the lower abdomen."
After Hernandez was wounded, a handgun fell to the ground and was recovered by police, Dyer said.
The lawsuit, however, contends that Hernandez saw two men in dark clothing pointing guns at his face -- guns with flashlights attached in a fashion "similar to those used by gang members in the area."
Fearing he was going to be shot, Hernandez ran into the apartment, where he and Rodriguez were shot without warning or provocation, the lawsuit said.
A Fresno police report says Chavez and Avila did not see Hernandez with a firearm.
The report says Avila and Chavez both said "stop, police" when they confronted Hernandez outside the apartment. It says Chavez told Hernandez "stop, police" inside the apartment. But according to the officer who wrote the report, Avila said: "Everything else happened so fast, no other commands were given until after the shooting took place."
In the report, Chavez said he fired his weapon because Hernandez "was reaching toward his waistband" and he believed "the suspect was going to shoot him and his partner, causing serious injury or death."
After the shooting, Dyer said Hernandez has Bulldog gang tattoos, associates with gang members and has been convicted of several crimes, including domestic violence, possession of drugs for sale, burglary and auto theft.
Court records show that Hernandez was charged with several felonies in connection with the New Year's Day incident, including resisting arrest, possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Fresno defense attorney Roberto Dulce, who is representing Hernandez, said his client wasn't armed when he was shot.
Dulce said that Hernandez's trial is pending because he is still waiting for test results from the gun that the two officers recovered.
"I don't think they will find his fingerprints or DNA on the gun or gunshot residue [from his hands], because it's not my client's gun," Dulce said Wednesday.
Regardless of whether Hernandez was armed, Rodriguez remains an innocent victim, Bracamontes said.
After being shot, Rodriguez said she was hospitalized for a week and underwent two surgeries.
She said she has trouble walking and lifting things and suffers from depression, anxiety and fear.
"These feelings will never go away," she said.
I love Fresno.