Tacoma officer said he was fired for not shooting to kill. Judge dismisses the case
A former police officer is continuing a legal battle with the City of Tacoma after a Pierce County judge dismissed his claims that he was fired in 2017 for not shooting to kill a suspect.
David O’Dea, a 22-year veteran of the Tacoma Police Department, filed an appeal in October to the Court of Appeals Division II.
Brett Purtzer, attorney representing O’Dea, told The News Tribune on Monday that O’Dea is “declining to make any statement” because the case is on appeal.
The appeal request was filed only days after Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh granted summary judgment on all claims in favor of the city.
“The City believes that the Superior Court’s ruling is appropriate under the law and the facts of this case, and respects plaintiff’s right to seek appellate review of the ruling,” deputy city attorney Jean Homan wrote in an email statement. “Because this matter is still pending, the city cannot comment further at this time.”
The lawsuit stemmed from an incident in August 2016. O’Dea responded to a road rage call to find three officers surrounding a vehicle.
The driver, 37-year-old Jose Manuel Mendoza-Davalos, refused to cooperate with police and rammed a patrol car, according to court records. In an attempt to leave the scene, Mendoza-Devalos accelerated his vehicle toward O’Dea.
“Lt. O’Dea feared for his life as the vehicle continued to rapidly approach him,” O’Dea’s complaint stated.
O’Dea fired several shots at the vehicle, which slowed down. The suspect then was stunned with a Taser and pulled out of the car and arrested.
Following the incident, O’Dea was put on post-shooting administrative leave, as is standard procedure. Days later, he was notified he was being investigated for policy violations. After a 10-month investigation, department leaders determined O’Dea did not follow policy regarding use of deadly force. In June 2017, O’Dea was fired.
O’Dea filed a lawsuit against the city in 2018. Previously, he filed a separate public records case against the city for withholding documents related to his firing, which Judge Helen Whitener stated in 2019 the city wrongfully withheld, The News Tribune previously reported.
In the 2018 lawsuit, O’Dea claimed the Police Department failed to fully disclose information to the city’s Deadly Force Review Board and that he was terminated without just cause, suffering loss of job opportunities and emotional distress.
“David O’Dea chose life over death, and the Tacoma Police Department terminated him,” court records stated. “(O’Dea) was terminated because he did not shoot at or ‘target’ the individual who created in him an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.”
The city argued staff followed procedures and there was no basis to the claims, asking the court to dismiss them.
“He was fired because he did not have probable cause to believe that Mendoza Davalos presented an imminent threat and consequently, he never should have fired his weapon at all,” the city stated in court documents.
Rumbaugh ruled in favor of the city on all claims on Oct. 14.
This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 6:30 AM.
