City may settle Steen wrongful death suit

On January 10, 2010, Vincent Steen was riding his bicycle when he was stopped by Porterville police officers for what police said were multiple vehicle code violations.

Twenty-seven-year-old Steen was later shot and killed by the same officers in his West Oakmont home.

On July 12, Cathy Connor and David Steen will attend a court-ordered mediation conference where a judge will attempt to settle a lawsuit against the City of Porterville, three Porterville police officers and others involved in what they believe was the wrongful death of their son.

In the lawsuit filed Sept. 20, 2010, Charles Barrett, the family’s attorney, claims that Brian Nix, Erik Martinez, and Isaiah Scaggs and others negligently failed to follow procedures and standards of the Porterville Police Department, resulting in Steen’s death.

On March 4, the officers were cleared of any wrongdoing by the Porterville Police Department and on March 29 Tulare County District Attorney Phil Cline announced he would not file criminal charges against the Porterville Police Department for Steen’s death.

On April 14, Steen’s family filed a civil claim against the City of Porterville for personal injuries and wrongful death.

“We believe the police department and officers were negligent and did not follow standard police procedures. If they had, Vincent Steen would be alive today,” Barrett said Wednesday.

Barrett said the family would like the truth to come out and seeks compensation for damages. A jury, he said, will see their entitled damages, based on evidence he said was recorded by a stun gun used the night of the incident.

“From the time the police officer activated the Taser outside the home, walked through the house, and through the door and shot this young man, it was being recorded,” he said, adding that the police department has turned the device over.

Claims against the defendants include negligence of public employees in the course and scope of their employment, intentional/reckless conduct, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The family seeks compensation for what are listed as:

- non-economic damages in excess of the minimum jurisdictional requirements of the court;

- all funeral, burial and other expenses according to proof;

- interest to the extent allowed by law;

- all loss of the decedent’s care and support, according to proof;

- all costs of the suit; and

- such other and further relief as the court may deem just and proper.

Barrett said that under the rules of the court, he is not permitted to identify any exact amounts.  

As of Friday, the Porterville Police Department’s attorney, John Hamilton, was not available for comment.

Porterville City Manager John Lollis said that given it is litigation, he is unable to comment on the case.

Other subsequent mediations may be required by the end of August, Lollis said, and if warranted, a trial will proceed in September or October.

Contact Denise Madrid at 784-5000, Ext. 1047 or dmadrid@portervillerecorder.com.