Family of Marine Killed by Deputy Sues Orange County

The family of Marine Sgt. Manuel Loggins has sued Orange County, a move that was widely expected after a sheriff's deputy shot and killed Loggins in February in front of his two young daughters.

Brian T. Dunn of the Cochran Firm in Los Angeles , a precursor to litigation.

The family alleges that Loggins was lawfully sitting in his car and making no threatening movements when Deputy Darren Sandberg opened fire Feb. 7.

Earlier that moring, Loggins drove through a gate in the parking lot of San Clemente High School. According to the , he left the car and headed into the dark athletic fields making "irrational statements."

The daughters were left in the back seat of Loggins' Yukon as backup officers arrived to form a perimeter. Loggins then returned, got back in the vehicle and Sandberg shot him, telling investigators he feared for the safety of the girls and other motorists if Loggins were to drive off.

Loggins' family disputes the deputy's version of events. The suit said Sandberg violated Loggins' civil rights and it also claimed an unspecified amount of damages for wrongful death, false imprisonment of Loggins' daughters after the shooting and "negligent infliction of emotional distress."

The suit asserts that Sandberg shot Loggins "without having probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that Manuel Loggins had committed any crime or would committ a crime in the future."

Loggins made "no aggressive movements, no furtive gestures and no physical movements which would suggest to any reasonable deputy that he was armed with any kind of weapon, or had the will, or ability to inflict substantial bodily harm against any individual," the family stated in the initial claim agianst the department.

Rather, the family blames faulty actions, faulty training, faulty hiring and faulty supervision, and claims a host of other damages, such as assault, violation of civil rights, wrongful death, false imprisonment and others.

More details coming.

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