Virginian-Pilot


DATE: Monday, September 29, 1997            TAG: 9709290059

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   86 lines




WOMAN PLANS TO SUE BEACH POLICE FOR SHOOTING HUSBAND DURING ARREST

When Dawn Medlin read last week that Virginia Beach police officers may be punished for shooting an unarmed suspect, she wondered: What about the officer who shot my husband?

Her husband, Rodney F. Medlin, was shot while sleeping, unarmed, in a Virginia Beach motel room last October. He survived and later pleaded guilty to three home burglaries.

Police said the shooting was an accident. They said an officer's gun went off as the SWAT team stormed into Medlin's room at the Red Roof Inn off Greenwich Road on Oct. 14, 1996.

But Dawn Medlin is skeptical. She says she will sue the city and the police officer to find out what really happened. Her attorney, William ``Buster'' O'Brien, said he probably will sue within 10 days.

``I'm assuming, as of right now, it was accidental,'' O'Brien said Friday. ``That's a negligence action. There may be a federal action.''

O'Brien met with city officials Friday, but no settlement was reached. Senior City Attorney L. Steven Emmert said Virginia Beach simply is not liable.

``It was an accidental shooting,'' Emmert said Friday. ``It's not a situation where they came in with guns blazing.''

In another case, 18 Virginia Beach officers received notice last week from the department that they face punishment in the death of Bruce Quagliato. He was fatally shot by police in March after a low-speed chase. Relatives of Quagliato, like Medlin, have said they intend to sue.

At the time he was shot, Medlin was wanted for a string of home burglaries. He had eluded police for two weeks, at one point leading them on a daylong search with dogs and a helicopter.

Dawn Medlin, a 28-year-old gas station clerk, said she tried to help police capture her husband but wanted assurances that he would not be hurt.

In the end, Medlin said, she tipped off a police detective that her husband was at the hotel. In return, she said, the detective promised that her husband would not be hurt.

``He knew my husband was in there with nothing, with no weapon,'' she said.

Rodney Medlin, who was 28 at the time, had a 10-year history of arrests and convictions, almost all for small, nonviolent crimes.

Dawn Medlin said she and Rodney ran a swimming-pool business before her husband got involved with drugs. Then he started stealing things to support his habit. He eventually pleaded guilty to stealing TV sets, video recorders, jewelry and other items from three houses. After his arrest last year, he was sentenced to three years in prison; he is now in the Virginia Beach City Jail.

On the day of that arrest, Oct. 14, Rodney Medlin was sleeping off the effects of a drug binge in the motel room, Dawn Medlin said.

At the time, police said, Medlin was considered armed and dangerous. They said Medlin told relatives and acquaintances he would not surrender peacefully if police tried to catch him. Dawn Medlin said that was not true.

At 5 a.m., as police burst into his room, one shot was fired. The bullet struck Medlin in the shoulder, arm and chin as he lay sleeping on a bed. He spent two days in the hospital.

Police had no explanation for the shooting at the time. They now say an officer's gun went off by accident.

Dawn Medlin said there was no need for guns and violence. She said police could have waited until her husband came out of the motel room, or simply opened his door with a key. She doesn't believe the shooting was an accident, but even if it was, she asks, why hasn't anyone apologized?

``They never even gave me an investigator's report or anything,'' she said.

A police spokesman could not be reached for comment Friday.

If the Medlins sue, they may have a tough time winning. Cities and police officers are generally immune from lawsuits for simple accidents but can be sued for ``gross negligence'' - that is, cases of gross indifference to public safety.

``I don't think the Constitution protects you from accidental shootings,'' Emmert said.

Dawn Medlin isn't so sure.

``I feel like I set him up like a Thanksgiving turkey for them, and look what they did,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

GARY C. KNAPP

AT ODDS OVER POLICE SHOOTING

Dawn Medlin, with her son Tristan, 2, of Virginia Beach says she

will sue Virginia Beach police for shooting her husband while

arresting the unarmed, sleeping man. Police say it was accidental.

Color photo

Rodney Medlin, whom police shot during an arrest on burglary

charges, is now in the Virginia Beach City Jail. KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT



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