The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Family of man shot by police files lawsuit Suit alleges wrongful death, racism By Justin Berton The family of Eligio Dator, the Sunnyvale resident who was shot and killed by a police officer on Murphy Avenue last year, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city last week. Dator, 29, was wielding what officers later learned was a pellet gun on the crowded downtown strip when police intervened. The lawsuit contends officers deprived Dator of his civil rights by "inflicting fatal punishment without due process of law for reasons of racial discrimination." Dator was Asian and the shooting officer is white, the lawsuit states. The suit holds the city and chief of police responsible for the death, citing "negligent training and supervision" of the officer who fired the fatal shots. Winston Albright, one of two attorneys representing the Dator family, said he could not yet comment on the details of the case. "In time, the facts will come out," he said. Albright expects a long legal battle. "In police brutality cases, municipalities tend to fight them tooth and nail. That draws them out, and that's a problem," he said. Albright declined to say whether the suit alleges that the department as a whole is racist. City Attorney Valerie Armento said she would not comment on the lawsuit, because she has no knowledge of the case. "To the best of my knowledge the city hasn't been served," Armento said. The Dator family attorneys have 60 days from Dec. 24 to serve the city with the lawsuit. Armento said the city would hire an outside firm to handle the case. The lawsuit is the result of a violent weekend evening that left more than 100 witnesses in the downtown shocked with disbelief. Minutes before the May 9 shooting, Dator was inside Murphy's Law tavern drinking a Budweiser beer just after 9 p.m. A bartender told Dator to leave the bar after he flashed what seemed to be a handgun. Bartender Chad Beaulieu said when he called 911 to report Dator, he knew the gun was not real. But officers arriving on the scene were unaware Dator was carrying a pellet gun. Witnesses told police they saw Dator fire the pellet gun in the direction of public safety officer Dave Verbrugge behind Fibbar Magee's. Verbrugge fired two shots but missed, and chased Dator into the bar and back out onto Murphy Ave. As Dator ran down the street filled with weekend revelers, police said Dator pointed the pellet gun over his shoulder and fired at police officers. Twelve-year veteran Mark Gay fired at Dator, hitting him five times between the neck and waist, the county coroner's report showed. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.