Polk County, deputy sued for $28.5 million in wrongful death suit
The family of an 18-year-old man who was killed and a person who was shot in the leg during a September shooting on Highway 22 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton and deputy Michael Smith for $28.5 million.
The civil suit filed in federal court alleges 18-year-old Isaac Ivan Ocegueda of Carlton and a 17-year-old female passenger of a van picked up a friend, Jose Corral-Zavala, as he was involved in a shooting with police.
It alleges Smith used aggressive techniques in firing at the van, killing Ocegueda and shooting the girl in the leg.
"The County has no comment on pending litigation," Polk County said in an email Friday about the lawsuit, which was filed Jan. 18.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 30 after officers say Corral-Zavala, 21, sped away from an Independence Police officer during an attempted traffic stop on Highway 51.
Polk County sheriff’s deputies flattened the tires of Corral-Zavala's BMW with spike strips, but he drove onto Highway 22, turned west toward Salem and continued until crashing near Milepost 23.
A Honda van driven by Ocegueda with the girl as a passenger honked its horn as it drove to the point on Highway 22 where police were searching for Corral-Zavala, according to the lawsuit. Ocegueda and the passenger were friends with Corral-Zavala and they stopped the van.
Corral-Zavala and Smith fired at each other, and Smith was shot in his ankle. Corral-Zavala got into the front passenger seat of the van.
The lawsuit alleges that after the initial shooting stopped, Smith approached the van and without warning fired three times. The lawsuit said that is a tactic taught in the military, and that Smith served in the Oregon Army National Guard and was deployed to a combat zone in 2005.
The lawsuit alleges one of the three shots fired by Smith hit Ocegueda in the back and another one hit the 17-year-old in the left leg.
Ocegueda sped away from police and crashed into a West Salem house not long after. The girl got out of the van and was taken to a hospital.
After a lengthy standoff between Corral-Zavala and police that ended in him surrendering, according to charging documents, officers found Ocegueda dead.
The civil suit alleges, among other things:
Smith knew Ocegueda and the passenger were unarmed when he fired at the van.
Smith was previously investigated by Polk County, and that investigation concluded he responds emotionally to confrontation and “errs in judgment by not slowing things down once situations have escalated.”
The county is negligent by allowing “other unlawful shooting (sic) to go unpunished and/or wrongfully justified the shootings for an improper purpose, attempting to avoid liability.”
The suit, filed by Heil Halttunen and Andrew Bridge of Dallas law firm Jarvis Bridge Halttunen & Weyer, asks for $5,000 for the funeral, cremation and memorial for Ocegueda, $20 million for the pain and suffering he incurred between being shot and dying, $5 million for losses to his estate and $3.5 million for the injuries suffered by the 17-year-old girl being shot.
A Polk County grand jury in October found Smith’s use of force was justified.
Corral-Zavala has pleaded not guilty to 24 charges, including nine counts of attempted murder stemming from shooting at police officers. He also has been charged with manslaughter in Ocegueda's death.
He is currently in jail in Benton County, according to county records. Corral-Zavala’s next pretrial hearing in Polk County is scheduled for Feb. 3.
Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Lawsuit alleges Polk County is liable in death of 18-year-old
