The family of slain fugitive Harold McCord Jr. is seeking $40 million in damages, claiming his civil rights were violated June 24 when he was shot during a raid at a Monroe apartment.
The claims were filed Monday and Tuesday by McCord family attorney Bradley Marshall of Seattle. They seek $20 million each from the city of Monroe and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
"Mr. Marshall and the estate of Harold McCord should not be expecting a check anytime soon," said Tom Fitzpatrick, the county’s assistant chief civil deputy prosecutor.
The sheriff’s office was not involved in McCord’s arrest, "and Bradley Marshall knows this," Fitzpatrick said.
McCord died when Monroe police attempted to arrest him by sending a heavily armed raid team into an apartment where McCord was hiding.
An investigation by a special team of detectives from Snohomish County concluded that McCord was fatally shot as he brandished a gunlike object and verbally threatened to shoot police.
McCord’s family maintains the officers were negligent and violated his civil rights.
The claims were filed on behalf of McCord’s two daughters, ages 9 and 17, Marshall said.
"The children have suffered dramatically by the way they lost their father," he said. "We think there’s punitive damages available because these officers did not have proper training" and bungled the raid, he said.
McCord, of Tacoma, faced life in prison under the state’s three-strikes law. He escaped from the Pierce County Courthouse the day before the police raid by flashing a fake gun. The fake gun was found by investigators after the courthouse escape.
McCord’s family claims he wanted to surrender but wasn’t given the chance. They’ve also blasted the police tactics and called for criminal charges against the officers involved.
"Like any other claim, it will be studied before any official response is made. However, there is nothing that is known at the present that would warrant payment of such a claim," said Mark Bucklin, a lawyer for Monroe in the McCord case.
The city and county have 60 days to respond to the claims. If they choose not to pay, McCord’s family can file a lawsuit.
Marshall said he is hopeful the city and county will negotiate.
"We don’t expect them to pay that entire amount," he said.
A claim was not filed against the Bothell Police Department, which had four officers involved in the raid. Marshall said the family has not determined yet whether they will file against Bothell.
Undersheriff Steve O’Connor said the sheriff’s office was not involved in the raid and it is up to the lawyers to address Marshall’s claim.
"I’m not entirely sure what his angle on the case is," O’Connor said.
Marshall said he filed the claim against Snohomish County because the family believes Monroe officers were acting as agents of the county. He also accused Snohomish County prosecutors of providing Monroe police with poor guidance about the warrant they obtained to search the apartment .
"They ignored critical information that he was unarmed and that there were no weapons in the house," Marshall said.
Mark Roe, the county’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said Wednesday that Marshall has repeatedly insisted that he step aside in deciding whether charges should be filed.
Roe has been trying to determine whether McCord’s death was a lawful but unfortunate act, or a crime. He has previously said that, in keeping with the law, his decision will be influenced heavily by what was going on in the minds of police at the time they were preparing to apprehend McCord.
All of the officers who shot McCord have provided statements to detectives saying they believed McCord, 36, was a threat and that a dark-colored, pistol-shaped object in his hand was a real firearm, according to records.
Roe said Wednesday his decision will be postponed until after King County conducts an inquest into the shooting. King County Executive Ron Sims on Tuesday ordered the court-supervised inquiry, which will ask jurors to determine the circumstances surrounding the death. No date has been set.
McCord’s family pressed for the inquest.
Fitzpatrick said that inquests often amount to little more than a chance for civil attorneys to gather information for lawsuits they intend to bring against police. He also said that Sims’ decision to convene an inquest shows that Snohomish County was correct in arguing that it didn’t have jurisdiction to convene such an inquiry because McCord died at a Seattle hospital.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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