FAMILY OF MAN SLAIN BY POLICE FILES SUIT

Court: Johnnie Cochran takes case in which an unarmed Compton grandfather
was shot during a raid by El Monte SWAT team.

The family of an unarmed grandfather shot in the back by El Monte police
during a SWAT raid in Compton last August filed a wrongful death lawsuit
Wednesday against those cities and the veteran officer who fired the deadly
rounds.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also accuses police officers
of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Mario Paz, 65, as well as
compounding their fatal error with a cover-up and witness intimidation.

"In my 37 years of practicing law, this case is perhaps one of the most
egregious I've ever seen," said Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., the family's
attorney, who has handled dozens of police brutality cases. "The conduct of
these officers was outrageous."

Flanked by Paz's widow, Maria Luisa Paz, and her children, Cochran said at
a news conference in his office that he would be seeking "very substantial
damages."

He added that more than the money, the family hopes the federal government
indicts the officers, including Sgt. George Hopkins, the veteran El Monte
policeman who led the raid.

"My father was shot twice in the back as he was kneeling against his bed. .
. . He posed no threat," daughter Maria Derain told reporters.

The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the regional
director of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission are investigating the Aug. 9
shooting.

El Monte officials declined comment Wednesday. "We have not seen the
lawsuit yet," said John A. Pilger, spokesman for the San

Gabriel Valley city. Compton officials didn't return telephone calls.

Armed with a search warrant, Hopkins, 43, led a score of El Monte SWAT
officers into Paz's home during a late-night raid to seek evidence against
an alleged drug dealer.

The Sheriff's Department originally said Hopkins shot the grandfather of 14
twice in the back because he was believed to be armed.

But the lawsuit alleges that Paz, clad in his underwear, was kneeling with
his hands resting on the bed. It says that Hopkins--clad in camouflage gear
and a ski mask--stormed the house, knocked Paz's son to the ground and
rushed into the bedroom. There, Maria Luisa clung to the officer's leg,
begging for her husband's life, the suit says.

After the shooting, family members heard a senior officer say, "I think we
hit the wrong home," the suit alleges.

"Mr. Paz thought his family was being robbed," said Cochran, explaining Paz
had withdrawn $10,000 from his Tijuana bank account that day, fearing Y2K
problems.

Cochran, famous for his defense of O.J. Simpson, said police statements
that Paz was reaching for a gun were part of a cover-up. He said a jury
award to his clients would send a strong message against police abuse.

"This family represents families in this community," he said. "If this
family can't be safe, no one can."

El Monte police say they went to Paz's home seeking evidence related to an
alleged drug trafficker, who once lived next door. But they say no drugs
were found and they have no evidence linking Paz to illegal narcotics.

In the shooting's aftermath, authorities have given varying accounts,
starting with the version that Paz was believed to be armed.

A few days later, a sheriff's investigator said officers believed Paz was
reaching for a gun. Then a third statement from the department said Paz was
shot when he reached for a nearby drawer, where El Monte police said they
found guns.

More recently, a coroner's autopsy report quotes officers as saying that
they shot Paz because he failed to "cease his furtive movements" while
Maria Luisa Paz "tackled the lead officer."

El Monte police say they recovered three pistols and a .22-caliber rifle
from the Paz house. Family members said Wednesday the guns were for
protection and were nowhere near the family patriarch at the time of his
death.