Lawyer files claim in Temecula shooting

A couple of weeks after the Riverside County district attorney’s office decided not to file charges against off-duty Costa Mesa police Officer Scott Dibble for fatally shooting another man, Shaun Vilan, 30, in Temecula, an attorney representing Vilan’s mother, son and friend Taylor Willis, 22, filed claims against Costa Mesa.

Earlier this month, prosecutors decided that Dibble was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot Vilan and wounded Willis, and declined to press charges. Witnesses, according to authorities, said the two men attacked and beat Dibble outside the Bank of Mexican Food restaurant leading up to the shooting.

After telling the men he was a police officer, Dibble took out his gun and fired four shots: two that killed Vilan and two that hit Willis’ leg and buttocks.

Dibble had slapped the buttocks of one of the women in Vilan’s group, having mistaken her for one of his female friends, according to prosecutors.

Despite the fact that prosecutors did not file charges, the lawyer suing Costa Mesa, Robert Hamparyan, is arguing the city is culpable because it neglected to properly train Dibble and didn’t adequately investigate the case before putting him back to work.

The claim accuses Costa Mesa of “inadequate, improper, deficient and negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention of officers, continued employment of officers with actual or constructive notice of their failure or inability to properly perform their duties as officers, and/or abuse of alcohol.”

Hamparyan has yet to disclose the amount of money he is seeking on behalf of his clients, but writes that it will “well exceed the jurisdictional limit for unlimited jurisdiction.”

The city rejects the claims, saying there is no factual or legal basis for holding the city accountable in the case.

“The shooting was ruled by both the police department there and the D.A. there as self-defense, so we don’t believe the case has any merit,” said Costa Mesa City Atty. Kimberly Hall Barlow.

A claim is often a precursor to a lawsuit, but the claim must be rejected first before a lawsuit can be filed.

Efforts to reach Hamparyan for comment were unsuccessful Monday.

Hamparyan is also suing the county of Riverside and the city of Temecula.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].