Surfer Shot at by Police in Hunt for Dorner to Get $1.8M

A Redondo Beach surfer who was shot at and his car rammed by police officers during the manhunt for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner will receive $1.8 million in a settlement, it was announced today.

David Perdue's excessive force complaint, lodged in federal court in Los Angeles, alleged that two Torrance police officers rammed his pickup truck with their police vehicle and fired without warning as he drove to the beach before work on Feb. 7, 2013. Lizette Perdue, his wife, was also a plaintiff in the suit.

The settlement with the city of Torrance and Officers Brian McGee and Erin Sooper was reached last month, but the amount of the cash payout was confirmed today by Torrance police Sgt. Chris Roosen.

None of the bullets struck the 39-year-old Perdue, who had previously been stopped and cleared by other officers, according to the lawsuit, which was filed after he failed to reach a settlement with the city.

Perdue says he suffered a concussion when his truck's airbag opened and has lingering physical and emotional problems as a result of what happened to him that day.

Authorities said Dorner killed four people --  a Riverside police officer, a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy and the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiance -- during a rampage fueled by his anger over being fired from the Los Angeles force several years ago.

The disgruntled ex-cop's remains were found inside a burned-out Big Bear cabin after a shootout with law enforcement, culminating a nearly week-long manhunt for the fugitive.

--City News Service