Stanislaus County might be liable for locksmith’s murder, judge says

Survivors of a locksmith slain in Modesto alongside a deputy sheriff could have a good case in their wrongful death lawsuit against Stanislaus County, a federal judge said in a key ruling made public this week.

However, county leaders voted behind closed doors Tuesday to appeal the decision. An August trial date likely will be canceled pending the appeal, which could take two years or so to resolve.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill dropped portions of the lawsuit, handing the county a partial victory, but opted to let a jury decide significant questions about Sheriff’s Department actions before the April 2012 ambush murders of Deputy Robert Paris and locksmith Glendon Engert.

“A reasonable jury could infer that, had Paris and (his partner, Mike) Glinskas acted differently ... , Engert might not have died,” O’Neill said in the 61-page ruling, dated May 29 and released late Monday after confidential parts were redacted.

San Francisco attorney Richard Schoenberger, representing Engert’s widow and parents, said his team is “very pleased” with the decision. “I know that my clients very much look forward to having their day in court,” he said.

But Tuesday, county supervisors unanimously agreed to ask a higher court to overturn parts of O’Neill’s ruling.

“(He) improperly applied a lower standard on some claims and the county intends to ask the appeals court to correct that injustice,” County Counsel John Doering said.

Occupant Jim Ferrario, 45, had lost through foreclosure a fourplex unit on Chrysler Drive where he lived many years with his father when the deputies arrived to evict Ferrario and secure the property for the new owner. Engert was attempting to disable a heavy security door lock when Ferrario, using a high-powered assault rifle, fired from inside, killing Paris, 53, and Engert, 35.

A lengthy standoff ended hours later as the home went up in flames ignited by Ferrario, who committed suicide surrounded by a cache of weapons and ammunition.

Engert’s widow, Irina, and his parents, Ron and Anne Engert, sued in federal court, saying officers deprived the locksmith of civil rights by placing him in a path of danger despite having been warned about the gunman’s instability and military-grade weapons. The Engerts also cited state law in charging that negligence contributed to Engert’s death, and listed Lt. Cliff Harper and Sgt. Manuel Martinez as defendants, in addition to Paris’ estate and Glinskas.

O’Neill dismissed Harper entirely, noting that he was not involved with the eviction. Sheriff Adam Christianson was released from the lawsuit earlier this year, and the property owner paid $230,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

The judge also granted Paris and Glinskas limited immunity in particular portions of the lawsuit, but not in others. For example, “a reasonable juror could conclude that (deputies’) actions lulled Engert into a false sense of security,” O’Neill said. And they should not have told Engert to resume drilling after he paused and told the deputies he thought he heard something inside the home, the judge ruled.

Also, jurors might well find that Paris and Glinskas violated Engert’s civil rights, the judge ruled, because “they had information to suggest there might be an armed, possibly violent ‘weirdo’ at the property. A jury need not find that Paris and Glinskas knew Ferrario would in fact shoot Engert, just that Engert’s death was a foreseeable consequence of exposing him to the risks.”

The deputies had a duty to share with Engert the warnings they had received about Ferrario, the judge ruled, as well as a duty not to expose Engert to risks at the hands of another.

“If Engert was not aware of all the information possessed by Paris and Glinskas, informing him could have altered the outcome because Engert might not have agreed to participate in the eviction,” O’Neill said in the ruling.

Doering said O’Neill should have seen that the deputies did not “act with deliberate indifference and callous disregard” for the safety of others. “I don’t think anyone can say they did that,” Doering said.

“Ferrario is solely responsible for this tragedy,” Doering said, “and it was proper for the court to dismiss many of the claims against defendants who are not at fault for the murder of Deputy Paris and Mr. Engert. It’s unrealistic to think that Deputy Paris and Deputy Glinskas acted with deliberate indifference to their own safety, let alone the safety of Mr. Engert.”

Martinez must answer civil rights charges because he allowed the eviction to proceed without taking other precautions such as sending backup support, as he did a year earlier for a potentially dangerous eviction that ended without violence, the judge ruled. However, he absolved Martinez of direct liability under another federal statute, and excused him from negligence charges.

Glinskas and Martinez have retired.

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Stanislaus County might be liable for locksmith’s murder, judge says."