Governmental Entity Liability Team Defends Redondo Beach Officers Against Excessive Force Claim

Los Angeles Equity Partner Mildred K. O’Linn and San Diego Partner Yury A. Kolesnikov secured an outstanding outcome for our clients, the City of Redondo Beach and multiple police officers, in an officer-involved shooting case. Also, Paralegal Annastasia Goldberg played a key role in compiling and organizing the materials that helped make this win possible.

In August 2016, four officers responded to a hotel where Plaintiff was located in order to apprehend him, pursuant to an arrest warrant issued for multiple felonies. At the hotel, despite being surrounded by three patrol cars, Plaintiff proceeded to violently ram his vehicle into an officer in an SUV. The officer fired his rifle at the SUV in self-defense given the totality of the circumstances and immediate threat that Plaintiff posed. Plaintiff then reversed and floored his SUV into the officer’s car again, which caused the officer’s airbags to deploy. After doing so, Plaintiff’s actions within his vehicle led the officers to believe he was reaching for a weapon. In response, the officers fired additional rounds to stop the potential threat. Eventually, officers were able to pull Plaintiff from the SUV, tend to his wounds, and had him transported to the hospital.
 
In his case against our clients, Plaintiff argued that excessive force was used during his arrest, alleging that the officers fired their weapons after the threat ceased. However, because of Plaintiff’s use of his vehicle as a deadly weapon, the Court determined that the officers’ shots were justified, granting our motion for summary judgment in full.  

About Our Team

Mildred K. O’Linn is the Co-Leader of the Governmental Entity Liability team with 40 years of experience in representing law enforcement. Before her career in law, Ms. O’Linn was a police officer for eight years. She has been repeatedly recognized for her experience as a litigator. In 2009, she was accepted as a member of the distinguished American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Additionally, in 2011, she was inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America as a Senior Fellow.  In 2015 Attorney O’Linn was recognized by California POST with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement Training.

Yury A. Kolesnikov is a Partner in the San Diego office of Manning Kass. He is a member of the Appellate Law team. Mr. Kolesnikov has substantial appellate experience in both federal and state courts. He has been the principal brief writer in more than 35 appeals, including before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, California Supreme Court, Delaware Supreme Court, and Missouri Supreme Court, and has argued 18 appeals, including in the Ninth Circuit (including before the court sitting en banc), Delaware Supreme Court, and multiple state intermediate appellate courts.