City Wants To Settle With Man Shot, Paralyzed As He Fled From Pasadena Police

The Pasadena City Council is scheduled Monday to discuss a settlement in the case of a man shot in 2013 by a Pasadena police officer after the man fled and reportedly flung away a handgun as he ran.

Court documents show that both the officer’s attorney and the City of Pasadena’s attorneys have agreed to settle the case. The Council is scheduled to meet to discuss the case in a closed-door session.

The federal civil rights case, Paris Holloway vs. City of Pasadena and Bartman Horn, stemmed from a Oct. 11, 2013 incident in which  former Pasadena police officer Bartman Horn reportedly got out of his police vehicle and tried to converse with 23-year-old Paris DeShawn Holloway. But Holloway fled and Horn chased him. 

At some point during the chase, Holloway is said to have taken out a handgun and flung it over a fence as he ran. Horn allegedly fired at Holloway striking him four times, resulting in Holloway sustaining serious injuries and permanent paralysis. 

Police detained Holloway after the shooting and charged him with resisting arrest, felon in possession of a firearm, and felon in possession of ammunition. 

Holloway pleaded no contest to resisting arrest.

In March, 2014 Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and Deputy District Attorney Fernando Guzman ruled that the shooting of Holloway was legally justified and that Horn “acted in lawful self defense.”

But in 2014, Holloway filed a complaint against Officer Horn and the City of Pasadena alleging excessive force as well as denial of medical care. He said Horn “unjustly and unnecessarily used deadly force” against him and caused him to have various complications. 

In July, 2017 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Holloway is entitled to take his case to trial, rejecting the City of Pasadena’s and Officer Horn’s contention that qualified immunity for the officer applied in the incident.  

The appeals court said Holloway did not pose an immediate threat to Horn or other police officers in the vicinity. 

“A jury could find that Holloway was raising his hands and going down to the ground to surrender when he was shot,” the court’s decision in Sept. 2021 said. “Appellants are therefore not entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment claim.” 

In later discussions, the City of Pasadena said it has reached an agreement with Holloway to settle the case. 

In a Notice of Conditional Settlement, the parties said they have “agreed to settle this matter in its entirety, subject to the approval by the Pasadena City Council.” The parties are now requesting that a status conference held on June 6 “be continued to on or about September 12, 2022.” 

Lawyers representing both parties said the parties would file a dismissal, with prejudice, if the settlement is finalized before the status conference on Sept. 12. 

In the event of such a settlement, the parties have also committed to file a Joint Status Report no later than seven days prior to the Sept. 12 Status Conference date.