City settles The family of a man shot and killed by police in Pupukea nearly four years ago will be paid $250,000 under a settlement reached this week.
police-shooting suit
The family of a man killed
by police will receive $250,000By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comA U.S. District Court jury found that Honolulu police officer Mark Boyce used excessive force when he shot Fortunato Barques III twice in May 1998, awarding two of Barques' minor children $50,000 for their loss.
The settlement was negotiated after the jury reached its verdict in December. Paul Saccoccio, who represented Barques' parents and estate, said the settlement removes the verdict and limits the city's exposure to paying a larger share of attorney and medical fees incurred by the family.
Barques incurred more than $750,000 in medical bills before he died, Saccoccio said. Additionally, three different law firms represented Barques family members.
Saccoccio said that during the summer the City Council could have settled the case for much less. "We tried to settle it, to not put the family through the pain and agony. We arrived at a tentative settlement of $85,000, and they rejected it," Saccoccio said.
Concern about the precedent of having a jury citing improper training of a police officer likely helped motivate the city to settle now, he said.
"The jury found that the police officer used excessive force and that the Honolulu Police Department was improperly training." City prosecutors declined to prosecute Boyce for the shooting, saying the evidence was insufficient to support criminal charges.
Barques' truck was stopped by Boyce after the officer spotted the vehicle parked on the wrong side of the road leading to the Puu o Mahuka Heiau. The truck was parked overlooking the heiau, where numerous break-ins had been reported. According to the city, Boyce feared for his safety and drew his firearm, ordering the vehicle's two occupants out of the truck.
Barques and his girlfriend complied, but Barques then got up, jumped over a nearby fence and refused to heed Boyce's repeated orders to stop, the city argued.
City & County of Honolulu
