Tulare County man shot by police, paralyzed, to get $2.5 million in lawsuit settlement
A $2.5 million settlement was reached in a federal civil rights lawsuit involving a 19-year-old who became paralyzed after being shot by police in Woodlake.
Adonis Serna contends he was ambushed by police in 2017, although records show he was driving a stolen vehicle. Serna was shot five times on the back, and is now “completely” paralyzed from the chest down, his attorney Douglas L. Hurt said.
“To me that’s case of police officers going crazy and usually the victims are (of) brown skin,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno in May 2018. The suit accused Tulare County Detective Bari Molyneux, Exeter Police detective Kevin Phelps and Woodlake police detective Oscar Robles of excessive force, assault and battery negligence.
Representatives from those municipalities couldn’t be reached for comment as of Tuesday afternoon.
Once the money has been paid, Tulare County will be dismissed from liability as Molyneux did not shoot, Hurt said. Robles, he said, was the main shooter, and Phelps shot once but it’s unknown whether that bullet hit Serna.
Hurt said the incident happened in a school zone and the officers were in unmarked vehicles and were not wearing police uniforms.
“The problem, nationwide, is that police shoot first and think later,” he said. “ It’s a travesty and I hope that cases like this will at least wake them up a little bit.”
Hurt said, in his opinion, Robles should have faced criminal charges, but instead charges were brought against Serna. In September 2018, Robles was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, and his case is pending in court.
Serna was facing two counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon on police officers and one felony count for possession of a stolen vehicle in connection to the incident.
However, as part of the settlement reached on Thursday through mediation, the criminal case against Serna will be dismissed, Hurt said.
On Friday, Serna appeared at the Tulare County Superior Court, where he entered a plea of no contest for misdemeanor possession of a stolen vehicle and misdemeanor resisting arrest, Hurt said. He will serve two years of summary probation, meaning he doesn’t have to report to anybody, but only has to follow the law.
After his two years of probation, Serna can have his misdemeanors expunged, Hurt said.
The money from the settlement will be placed in a special needs trust so that it’s protected for Serna’s use for his medical condition. Serna needs assistance to take care of himself, Hurt said.
“The kid deserves more money because he’s going to be crippled the rest of his life,” Hurt said. “He needs complete assistance to take care of himself.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 4:28 PM.
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