Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A Long Beach, California firefighter who punched an elderly man he believed had just murdered one of his colleagues, will not be facing criminal charges. However, he will likely find himself a defendant in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the man and his wife.
The incident that precipitated the punch was an explosion, fire and shooting at the Covenant Manor Senior Housing Project, a high rise building in Long Beach. Thomas Kim, 77, was charged with causing the June 25, 2018 explosion and fire, and then opening fire on first responders. Kim shot and killed Long Beach Fire Captain David Rosa.
In the confusion surrounding the incident, police initially suspected that another resident, Vladimir Tsipursky, 78, was responsible for the shooting. Tsipursky claims police shot him without warning and for no reason. He was transported to St. Mary Medical Center, the same hospital as Captain Rosa. While in the emergency department, FF Bradley Robideaux punched Tsipursky in the face, believing he was the one who shot Captain Rosa.
Kim died of natural causes last August while in custody. Last December, Tsipursky and his wife filed a federal court lawsuit accusing the City of Long Beach and several John Doe police officers with violating their civil rights, wrongful arrest, and using excessive force by first shooting Mr. Tsipursky and then punching him in the face while he was in custody and in the hospital.
It is unclear why the Tsipurskys believed a police officer threw the punch. Nevertheless, prosecutors have acknowledged that FF Robideaux threw the punch and last week decided he would not face criminal charges for doing so. The Long Beach Post quoted one of Tsipursky’s attorneys, Dale Galipo, as saying they are in the process of amending the lawsuit. As of today, the suit still states that a police officer threw the punch.
Here is a copy of the Tsipurskys’s complaint:
