Family of South Gate Man Killed by Downey Police, Settles for $4.5 Million, Wants Justice Department to Review Case

By City News Service

DOWNEY (CNS) - Relatives of a South Gate man who was shot to death by a Downey police officer who mistook the man for a robbery suspect announced today they were settling their legal action against the city for $4.5 million.

The city would not confirm the amount of the settlement, but issued a statement saying attorneys for both sides ``are working to bring an end to the legal case arising from the officer-involved shooting on Oct. 22, 2011, that claimed Mr. (Michael) Nida's life.''

"Until that time, the insurance risk pool's decisions for this matter are beyond the city's control,'' according to the statement.

Nida's sister, Terri Teramura, told KCAL9 the family planned to use the settlement money to care for Nida's children. She also said she hoped the U.S. Department of Justice will review the case, since the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office concluded the shooting was justified.

Relatives said Nida, 31, was shot while he and his wife were walking to a birthday party in his honor.

Officer Steven Gilley fatally shot Nida as police were responding to a call that a woman had been robbed at a Bank of America ATM at 7878 Imperial Highway, according to police and the District Attorney's Office.

Nida, who had walked to a nearby tobacco shop to buy cigarettes for his wife as she pumped gasoline at an ARCO station, was initially detained for jaywalking, then suddenly ran from the scene, according to the letter, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Sparagna wrote in a case evaluation last year.

"Responding officers, each in uniform and marked patrol cars, contained
the area searching for a person they believed was an armed robbery suspect,''
Sparagna wrote.

"Within 10 minutes, Officers Steven Gilley and Michael Powell detained Nida after he climbed over a cinder block wall into the alley behind Walgreens. Nida at first refused to obey their commands to show his hands and get on the ground.''

Nida eventually complied and was face down on the ground when he jumped up and ran from the officers while ignoring their commands to stop, prompting Gilley to open fire, according to the prosecutor.

"Although mistaken, Officer Gilley's belief that Nida was one of the armed robbers was reasonable under the circumstances,'' Sparagna wrote.

"Given the rapidly evolving, dangerous situation that confronted Officer Gilley, we conclude that Officer Steven Gilley was justified in using deadly force to prevent Nida's escape,'' Sparagna wrote.