SANTA ANA : Man Shot by Officer in Alley Sues Police

A young man who was one of three shot last summer by a police officer trying to break up an alley fight has filed a civil lawsuit against the officer and the Santa Ana Police Department, claiming he was needlessly shot in the back.

Anthony Castro Jr., 24, claims in his suit that the officer, Robin Childress, was guilty of gross negligence and should have been better trained by the Police Department on when to fire a weapon.

But police witnesses at the scene of the July 14, 1990, incident in the 2800 block of Maywood Street, near the Fairview Street intersection, said the police officer who fired shots was trying to save the life of a victim who was the target of a bat-wielding gang of attackers about 2 a.m. Other witnesses said shots had been fired before the police even arrived.

According to a police report of the incident, the officer--unidentified by police--pointed at the group and ordered the three men to stop and drop their weapons. He only fired, the report states, when they failed to respond.

Two of the attackers continued to club the victim, Fidel Marin, 27, of Anaheim, despite the officer’s warning, according to the police report.

Wounded along with Castro were Jodie Rivera, 20, and Alfredo Marin, 18, all three from Santa Ana. Castro claims he was shot from a distance of more than 25 feet.

Castro was taken to the Western Medical Center-Santa Ana in stable condition. All three recovered from their gunshot wounds.

Although the lawsuit does not state how many times Castro was shot, it claims that he suffered multiple wounds and that Childress fired his weapon a total of 14 times at the group.