Garcia v. Island County
Jan 08, 2024OUTCOME: Case settlement of $2,750,000
Island County has agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a former U.S. Navy master chief who was shot while trying to help deputies subdue an armed sailor following a 2017 standoff. ... Heath Garcia was shot in the foot with a high-powered rifle slung across the back of a deputy trying to arrest one of Garcia’s shipmates, Nicholas Perkins, who was drunk, suicidal and had barricaded himself in his house with several weapons, including a fully automatic rifle. A different deputy fatally shot Perkins shortly after the accidental shots rang out. Island County Sheriff’s Office and its scene commander, Lt. Michael Hawley, were responsible for “state-created danger” and engaged in a “gross deviation” from standard police practices by creating a plan to apprehend Perkins that placed Garcia’s life at risk. That plan involved agency officials allowing Garcia to enter the home to talk to his shipmate while armed deputies huddled outside. Garcia managed to persuade Perkins to give himself up despite his fear that he’d be shot if he went outside. Hawley, meanwhile, had promised deputies would back up and be out of sight, the lawsuit claims. But when Perkins exited the house, he saw deputies hiding behind nearby bushes. Yelling obscenities, he ran back into the home and retrieved a shotgun. Garcia again managed to persuade Perkins to leave the home and surrender, and as soon as they were out the door, Garcia wrapped the armed Perkins in a bear hug and called deputies for help. Joining the fray was Deputy Robert Mirabal, who had a loaded and charged AR-15 carbine slung across his back. The weapon discharged at least 10 times during the scuffle, according to court documents. One of the high-velocity rounds tore through Garcia’s right ankle and foot, causing a devastating wound that ended his 18-year Navy career and left him disabled. Hawley’s decision not to pull the deputies back after promising to do so escalated the situation, and the resulting scuffle led to the end of Garcia’s career The settlement, reached earlier this month, comes after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected Island County arguments that Hawley should be protected by qualified immunity for his actions that night. The appeals court also dismissed Mirabel as a defendant. The settlement also followed a September 2022 ruling from U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly, who denied Island County’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, finding there were factual disputes only a jury could settle. Zilly, the U.S. District judge, found evidence that Garcia’s injury was the result of a “chain of actions” by the Sheriff’s Office that began with Hawley allowing him access to a dangerous situation and ended with Mirabal entering the fray with a loaded and unsecured semi-automatic weapon within Perkins’ reach.