THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 2, 1994 TAG: 9408020347
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
A bystander who was shot by a police officer in June has filed a $1 million civil-rights lawsuit against the officer and the city.
The lawsuit accuses Officer M.L. Warren of battery, gross negligence and violating the rights of shooting victim Ronald L. Duck.
Police have said the shooting was an accident.
Duck, a 37-year-old store custodian, was shot in the shoulder on June 2 in front of his apartment building. The officer who fired the shot was investigating a shooting a few blocks away.
Duck was not a suspect or a witness. He has said Warren shot him for no apparent reason after emerging from his squad car and taking aim at him.
Police said the gun went off accidentally. Warren was not charged criminally.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Norfolk. It says Duck was ``minding his own business and behaving in a peaceable, lawful manner. Warren shot Duck without good cause. The shooting was totally unprovoked by Duck, who was seriously injured.''
Duck was hospitalized three days. Warren was suspended one week without pay, then reinstated with back pay.
On Monday, police spokesman Larry Hill said he could not discuss the department's internal investigations, except to say they are completed.
Before the shooting, Councilman Paul Riddick said some officers shoot too quickly in black neighborhoods. He called for the creation of a police civilian review board, then backed away from that request after talking with Chief Melvin High.
Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police has filed a complaint with City Manager James B. Oliver Jr. over ``the hasty and rash actions taken against Officer Warren in violation of departmental orders.''
The five-page letter, dated July 19, criticizes the department for suspending Warren immediately after the shooting, before any investigation. There have been several accidental shootings by officers over the years, the letter says, but ``little, if any, discipline was administered in these cases.''
The letter says Warren tripped and accidentally fired his gun.
``This is a most regrettable accident where the good intentions of a police officer to protect life ends up causing injury. . . ,'' the letter says. ``This membership only guesses as to the motivation behind the action taken. We assume this action was based on some perceived political reality that called for this immediate suspension.'' ILLUSTRATION: MARK MITCHELL/Staff file photo
Ronald L. Duck, 37, was hospitalized for three days after being shot
June 2 by a Norfolk policeman. Duck's suit seeks $1 million.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT SHOOTING NORFOLK POLICE DEPARTMENT
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