The family of a teenager who sued the city of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Police Department and an off-duty LAPD officer who fired his gun during a confrontation with a group of youths outside his Anaheim home agreed Thursday to dismiss their federal lawsuit, an attorney representing the officer said.
The plaintiffs agreed to drop the lawsuit after attorneys for the city and the officer agreed not to seek legal fees, said attorney John Christl, who represented the officer, Kevin Ferguson.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter last week granted Anaheim's motion to dismiss wrongful arrest and multiple other claims.
The family sued for $5.2 million, but in the end agreed to drop the litigation to avoid paying any legal fees to the city and Ferguson, Christl said.
Messages left with the family's attorneys Elena Torres and Gregory Peacock were not immediately returned.
"This was an unfortunate incident for Anaheim, and we feel for all those touched by it," Anaheim chief communications officer Mike Lyster said.
"The judge's decision reflects the difficult position our officers were put in that day. We offer our best wishes to the family as we all move forward."
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In February, the Los Angeles Police Commission ruled Ferguson violated the department's rules. That decision came after Orange County prosecutors announced in January that they would not file charges against Ferguson.
The Feb. 21, 2017, conflict started at 2:38 p.m. when a 13-year-old boy was walking with another teenage boy and two teenage girls in the 1600 block of West Palais Avenue.
Ferguson insulted one of the girls, prompting the others to confront the off-duty officer, who was on vacation at the time.
Ferguson thought the boy threatened to "shoot" him, but the boy insisted he said he would "sue" Ferguson.
The teenagers tried to walk away, but Ferguson pursued them and attempted to make a citizen's arrest. The boy wriggled free three times, but a crowd of about 14 students started milling around the pair, prosecutors said.
As a 15-year-old boy attempted to confront Ferguson another 16-year- old started rushing the off-duty officer, eventually tackling him as Ferguson was holding on to the 13-year-old over a hedge, prosecutors said.
The 16-year-old then punched Ferguson in the face, prosecutors said.
A fourth boy then jumped over the hedge and approached Ferguson from the side while pulling out a pencil or pen from his ear and shoving it in his back pocket, prosecutors said. Ferguson apparently thought he had a gun, so he pulled out his gun and showed it to the crowd before firing into the dirt, prosecutors said.
Ferguson claimed it was a warning shot.
Ferguson had been dealing with a steady stream of teenagers trampling on his lawn, Christl said. There was also an increase in graffiti in the area, according to Christl.
