City to pay for cops' mother-and-son tussle

The City of San Diego has agreed to settle a long-running excessive-force lawsuit filed against four San Diego police officers who allegedly assaulted members of a family during an incident in 2014.

According to documents filed in federal court on December 9, the City of San Diego agreed to settle the lawsuit filed by Hedy Julca and her three sons for an undisclosed amount.

The incident, as reported by the Voice of San Diego, occurred on July 29, 2014, when four officers witnessed a man and a woman attempting to enter a City Heights cell-phone store after hours. The store, it was later found, was owned by the family and was serving as their primary residence.

Two officers followed the couple into the store. Moments later four additional officers entered and a tussle ensued. Footage captured on the store's surveillance cameras showed officers repeatedly punching Luis Lobaton. Hedy Julca, Lobaton's mother, ran to try and stop the officers from punching her son. Officers then grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground a few feet from where her three-year-old son stood watching.

Officers Nathan Parga, Kelvin Lujan, San Euler, and Ali Bakhshi arrested Julca and Luis Lobaton, charging the latter with obstructing a peace officer. No charges were filed against the mother. Lobaton spent several days in jail on an immigration hold until his family could locate his birth certificate.

As reported by the Reader, the family sued the city and the four police officers for using excessive force, failing to properly supervise and train police officers, as well as attempting to cover up the assault in private interviews later given by the officers.

On December 8, according to court documents obtained by the Reader, the two sides agreed to settle the case during a scheduled settlement conference. The terms of the agreement have not been made public. The city council must first give final approval of the settlement before the terms are made public. The council is expected to vote on the agreement in closed session sometime in January.