Widow Sues LA Sheriff's Dept. After Her 80-Year-Old Husband Is Killed During A Search For Drugs That Weren't Actually There

from the because-if-it's-drug-related,-shoot-first,-issue-denials-later dept

The War on Drugs is increasingly being fought in the courtrooms, but not in the way drug warriors prefer. A multimillion dollar lawsuit has been filed for civil rights violations, use of excessive force and wrongful death by the wife (Tonya Pate) of Eugene Mallory, who was 80 years old at the time sheriff's deputies ended his life back in 2011.

The lawsuit details the actions taken by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept., along with its alleged coverup of its misconduct proceeding and following the incident that saw Mallory shot six times as he was lying in bed. According to sheriff's deputies, the decision to enter Mallory's trailer was justified by Detective Toucan Sam Patrick Hobbs, who claimed he smelled "chemicals" while "downwind." This was further justified by an anonymous tip that Mallory was supposedly manufacturing meth on the premises. No spoiler alert is really necessary as I'm sure we can see where this is going. No meth or meth manufacturing equipment/chemicals were found. However, deputies did claim to find "marijuana and marijuana-growing equipment" on another part of the property.

But, as Reason points out, there were discrepancies between the deputies' first statement and the one released after they listened to the audio recording of the incident.

Deputies approached the house, and what happened next is where things get murky. The deputies said they announced their presence upon entering and were met in the hallway by the 80-year-old man, wielding a gun and stumbling towards them. [Note: I can't find any confirmation that the deputies ever made this particular statement.] The deputies later changed the story when the massive bloodstains on Mallory's mattress indicated to investigators that he'd most likely been in bed at the time of the shooting. Investigators also found that an audio recording of the incident revealed a discrepancy in the deputies' original narrative:

Before listening to the audio recording, [Sgt. John] Bones believed that he told Mallory to "Drop the gun" prior to the shooting. The recording revealed, however, that his commands to "Drop the gun" occurred immediately after the shooting.

The rest of the case, including the warrant and the anonymous tip, seem to be at least as suspect as the changing narrative, according to the allegations put forth in the filing. It doesn't take long for Pate's lawyer to start nailing the defendants (of which there are more than 50) to the wall. The second paragraph of the first cause of action runs as follows.

On or about June 25, 2013, in the County of Los Angeles, State of California, HOBBS filed with the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles, his sworn affidavit and statement attesting to certain facts in support of a search warrant for the residence and real property of DECEDENT located at 36644 117th Street East, Littlerock, County of Los Angeles, State of California. At all times stated herein, HOBBS either lied under oath making these representations, knowing that the material facts he stated to the court were false or were likely untrue, or were made by him with a reckless disregard for the truth, with the further intent to deceive the court and to intentionally deprive DECEDENT and Plaintiff of their constitutional rights under the law.

What did Hobbs allegedly lie about? Well, Mallory's supposed "clandestine" meth lab (which was allegedly used to "continuously manufacture" the drug) for one thing. Hobbs used an anonymous tip and his expert nostrils to make this call, both of which were proven wrong after Mallory had six bullets in him. Hobbs apparently felt Mallory had the ability to whip up a meth lab on the fly, as the filing notes that the property itself had been inspected several times by the LA Sheriff's Dept. itself, along with code enforcement officers, all without ever turning up evidence of drug manufacturing or storage.

The suit also alleges that the "secret informant" was unreliable, if he or she even existed at all. (The lawsuit then goes on to confusingly claim this possibly nonexistent informant "had reason to lie and fabricate false information about [Mallory].")

Further on, Pate's lawyer calls out the LA Sheriff's Dept. (of which a total of 50 'John Doe' officers are listed as defendants, which apparently was the total number of responding officers post-shooting) for failing to properly train its officers or even curtail their misconduct.

Failure to provide adequate discipline, training, control, and supervision to peace officers who themselves have either a propensity for lying and fabrication of evidence, for violence or a history of violence, and for engagement in other unconstitutional actions.

This isn't far from the truth. Reason points out the department has been "plagued by prison abuse scandals, questionable hiring practices, and allegations of racial profiling and harassment in recent years."

The lawsuit also alleges that Mallory was "deliberately" denied prompt medical care by sheriff's deputies. Also of concern is the fact that Pate was unable to obtain an independent autopsy (although the county coroner's declaration that Mallory died from "multiple gunshot wounds" would seem to be accurate), as the county chose to contact out-of-state relatives rather than Pate, Mallory's wife, and cremated his body at their request.

This is America's drug war: a man killed in the pursuit of a drug manufacturing operation that didn't exist. After the news first hit, the sheriff's department used the discovery of marijuana as justification for its actions -- even though the failure to find the drug it was actually searching for turned both the anonymous tipster and Detective Hobbs' nose into liars.

Here are the statements made directly after the shooting.

During the June raid, Mallory raised a semi-automatic handgun in response to deputies, who fired on him, the sheriff’s department said at the time. Two guns were recovered at the scene, according to sheriff’s department spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Using the word "semi-automatic" makes the handgun sound more threatening, despite the fact that the majority of pistols sold are semi-automatic.

“Age does not preclude somebody from being aggressive toward deputies,” Whitmore said. “The lesson here is… don’t pull a gun on a deputy.”

That narrative is still being disputed.

Marijuana was found on another part of the property where Tonya’s lived, she said.

“There was a drug operation that was certainly going on in this house,” Whitmore said.

But not the drug operation anyone was looking for and not the drug operation cited by Hobb's nostrils and the department didn't release any specifics on what was recovered or how much, which means it could have been nothing more than a couple of potted plants and a grow lamp ("marijuana and marijuana-growing equipment"). It couldn't have been much of a "drug operation" because not a single person who was detained and questioned following the incident was arrested or charged.

There were no other occupants in the residence at the time of the shooting, but several residents at the multi-unit property were detained for questioning in relation to the deputy-involved shooting, Gomez said. All residents were later released.

Pin it on the dead guy, whatever they actually found. So, the Drug War rolls on, costing citizens billions of dollars, some of it in the form of lawsuit settlements. A dangerous 80-year-old alleged meth manufacturer was taken out, making the world a safer place, because eventual, alleged marijuana growers are apparently equally as dangerous and undeserving of due process.

Filed Under: eugene mallory, los angeles, police, tonya pate, war on drugs