Settlement nears in Metro shooting

Jen Lawson

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

A 3-year-old girl whose father was shot by a Metro Police officer in 1999 is expected to be awarded a $325,000 settlement that would end federal litigation against the department.

Metro's Fiscal Affairs Committee may approve the settlement Monday.

Thomas Dillard Jr., an attorney who represents Metro, said the department isn't admitting guilt by settling the suit.

"I can't get into why it was settled," Dillard said this morning. "But there's no admission of fault. I can't emphasize that any stronger."

John Perrin was killed by Officer Bruce Gentner on April 12, 1999, six months before his daughter, Sarah Nadine Strouse, was born. Gentner was cleared in the shooting after a coroner's inquest.

This is a partial settlement, Dillard said. Metro wasn't able to work out a settlement with Perrin's mother, Connie, and her son's estate, and will go to trial Dec. 9.

Perrin was bouncing a basketball in a desert area near Rainbow Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue when Gentner stopped him, believing he had been involved in a drug transaction a few minutes earlier.

Gentner told the coroner's inquest that he also thought Perrin, who was unarmed, looked like a man sought in connection with a nearby October burglary.

Gentner testified that Perrin kept digging into his waistband, despite the officer's warning to show his hands, and pulled out what the officer believed was a pistol.

The officer said he feared for his life and fired a total of 14 hots, hitting Perrin six times.

The coroner's jury ruled the death was justifiable.

Connie Perrin filed a $25 million federal suit a month after her son was killed. Sarah Perrin was added as a plaintiff after she was born. The girl's mother is Perrin's girlfriend.

Statistically, the coroner's inquest system favors the police. Only one officer since 1976 has been found criminally liable for a duty-related shooting death. That decision was overturned by a grand jury, which refused to indict the officer.

Metro's Fiscal Affairs Committee is also expected Monday to approve a $900,000 settlement payment to two tourists, Juan Berry and James Suggs, who alleged they were falsely arrested by Metro officers after a bar fight in 1999.