FAMILY OF SLAIN BOY SUES POLICE

The family of an 11-year-old Modesto boy killed in his home during a
narcotics sweep last September has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in
federal court in Fresno, charging that officers should have known there
were children in the home at the time they raided it.

Alberto Sepulveda was shot in the back as he obeyed an officer's commands
to lie down during a SWAT raid of the family home on McAdoo Avenue in Modesto.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy's family by San Francisco
lawyers Arturo J. Gonzalez and Robert Y. Chan, the same legal team that won
a $12.5 million jury verdict for a Dinuba family after 64-year-old Ramon
Gallardo Sr. was shot as many as 15 times during a July 1997 police raid.
That case later was settled for $6 million.

The Sepulveda lawsuit names Modesto SWAT officer David Hawn, who fired the
shot that killed Alberto, and two other officers, Art Garza and Craig
Grogan, as well as the city of Modesto.

"We were hoping never to see another case like this one," Gonzalez said in
a news release, "but unfortunately too many police departments deploy SWAT
teams when they are not necessary. Breaking into a family's home with guns
drawn should be an absolute last resort. These Rambo tactics endanger the
lives of innocent families and also place the officers' lives in danger."

A four-month investigation into the shooting death, the findings of which
were presented last week by Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden, determined
that Hawn's gun discharged accidentally.

Gregory M. Fox, a San Francisco lawyer retained by the city of Modesto to
represent it in the case, said Thursday he had not seen the lawsuit and
declined specific comment.

Fox said he has been in contact with the Sepulveda family's lawyers and
will "work very hard to address what appears to be a tragedy."

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Alberto's parents, Moises and Sonia
Sepulveda, and his brother, Moises Jr., 14, and sister, Xitlalic, 8.

Moises Sepulveda was the target of a raid conducted early the morning of
Sept. 13, part of a federal drug sweep with which the Modesto Police
Department was helping. Sepulveda, who was arrested and later released on
bail, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Jan. 29 at U.S. District Court in
Fresno.

Federal drug agents had tape-recorded telephone calls of Sepulveda and
Manuel Ruelas, the alleged leader of a methamphetamine-distribution ring,
before the raid was carried out. Modesto officers reportedly asked only
hours before the sweep whether any children were in the Sepulveda residence
and were told "none known."

But lawyer Chan said, "That's part of the problem; they should have known.
Alberto, his little sister and his older brother all attended public
schools in Modesto."

According to the lawsuit, there is nothing in the tape-recorded
conversations or in a federal agent's affidavit that "would lead a
reasonable person to believe that Moises Sepulveda was armed or dangerous."

A contingent of six officers, dressed in full SWAT gear, including masks,
approached the Sepulveda home at 6:30 a.m., broke the front door and threw
a smoke bomb, according to Gonzalez. Sepulveda was apprehended in his
living room.

The officers then checked other parts of the three-bedroom home. The
lawsuit says Sonia Sepulveda was met outside her bedroom where "she was
dragged by her hair, thrown to the floor of the living room, and handcuffed."

The officers then went to the second bedroom, the lawsuit says, "where
11-year-old Alberto stood. Officer Hawn ordered him to get face-down on the
floor. The frightened boy complied. Alberto's brother, 14-year-old Moises
Jr., was in the hallway near the bedrooms. He too was forced to the ground
and handcuffed."

"Meanwhile, officer Hawn had trained his 12-gauge Benelli shotgun on
Alberto's back as he lay quietly on the floor. For reasons yet to be
discovered, officer Hawn shot Alberto in the back, killing him."

Why the shotgun discharged has not been determined. A check of the weapon
by Modesto police and the U.S. Department of Justice concluded there was
nothing wrong with the weapon.

The lawsuit, which charges wrongful death, negligence, assault and false
arrest, does not specify damages the family seeks to recover.