- Police Brutality Watch

The mother of a man Stockton police officers shot and killed last year, ending a pursuit into a downtown neighborhood, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city. Rebecca Delito claims the two officers acted "carelessly, recklessly and negligently" when they shot her son, Luis Armando Dominguez, 23, on Feb. 17, 2005, at the intersection of Market and Sierra Nevada streets. She seeks more than $25,000 for herself and Dominguez's four children, ranging in age from 2 to 4. The year-old shooting happened after a detective spotted Dominguez driving a pickup reported stolen from Manteca. The detective ordered him out of the truck, but Dominguez rammed the detective's car, prompting the high-speed chase, police have said. Officers pinned in Dominguez's truck at the end of the chase and got out of their patrol cars. Dominguez threw the truck into reverse and threatened to run over them, police said. The officers opened fire, hitting Dominguez in the back. Officers later found a loaded handgun on the truck's floorboard. Delito claims in court papers she and her family have suffered both financially and emotionally as a result of Dominguez'sdeath. Medical and funeral bills piled up, and his two sons and two daughters don't have a father. Officers Robert Johnson and Brian Breckenridge, who shot Dominguez, are both back on the job, said Lt. Kevin Hatano of the Police Department. Hatano would not say if an internal investigation by the Police Department cleared the officers. Assistant District Attorney Craig Holmes said his office, which reviews all officer-involved shootings in the county, hasn't received the case yet. Delito filed a claim, which the city of Stockton rejected, City Attorney Ren Nosky said. [more]