Family Disputes Long Beach Officer's Version Of Fatal Shooting
LONG BEACH (AP) — Relatives of the man who was holding a water nozzle when he was shot and killed by Long Beach police on Sunday says they'll sue the department for wrongful death, negligence and battery.
Attorney Brian Claypool, who is representing Douglas Zerby's family, said Friday that the officers should have identified themselves and asked neighbors whether the man was a threat before staking out the 35-year-old.
Claypool said his own investigation of the scene casts doubt on the official police account of the shooting.
"Things are not lining up," he said. "I think in this situation and in this incident there were other steps that could've been followed that would have resulted in a very different outcome."
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He said he believes Zerby wasn't pointing the water nozzle at officers with a two-handed pistol grip, as police reported, because his body had three bullet wounds in the center of his chest.
Zerby's body was found leaning against a banister, which Claypool said shows that he wasn't being aggressive toward officers.
Zerby's family says he was drunk when he stopped by a friend's house instead of driving home. Neighbors saw him with a water nozzle on a porch and called police thinking he had a gun.
Police arrived and staked out Zerby from behind brick posts, instead of asking neighbors if they knew him.
Claypool said neighbors would have told the officer, "'That's Doug Zerby. Don't worry about that dude. He's fine."'
If the officers had identified themselves and issued a verbal command to drop the weapon, they would have determined that Zerby wasn't holding a gun, he said.
Zerby didn't even know that the officers were there, Claypool said.
Police have said that Zerby's behavior prompted the officers' response. According to officials, he was pointing an object at apartments which made sounds similar to a gun being handled.
Police Chief Jim McDonnell has said that the officers focused on setting up containment of the area rather than contacting him.
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