Hayward sued over police-involved shooting death

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Sep 17, 2007 | by Matt O'Brien

HAYWARD -- The parents of a man killed in an officer-involved shooting last year are claiming $20 million in damages from the city of Hayward.

Naser Solis, 20, was fatally wounded by Hayward police Officer Jason Corsolini on Aug. 30, 2006, after what police described as a "violent struggle" between the two men.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco accuses Corsolini of using excessive force in trying to break up a dispute between Solis and his 22-year-old brother, Alberto Solis, outside a home in the Cherryland district of unincorporated Alameda County.

Solis's parents, Saleh Ali and Maria Joya, both filed separate $10 million claims against Corsolini. The suits also name the city and Police Chief Lloyd Lowe.

Police investigators have said Corsolini was unable to subdue Solis and feared for his own safety when he drew his revolver and shot Solis.

But the lawsuit claims the officer was unjustly battering Solis with a baton and already had Solis pinned down to the ground when he shot him several times, killing him.

Mark Mata, a close friend of Solis, told The Daily Review last year that a fight began after Solis accused his brother and a mutual friend of stealing his bicycle.

The men originally were at Mata's home on Laurel Avenue, standing in the yard with a group that included Mata's mother and grandmother, according to the lawsuit.

The brothers began arguing and wrestling after Solis hit the yard's fence with a stick or rod, the lawsuit states.

Although located near Meekland Avenue in an unincorporated area under the jurisdiction of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, the Cherryland home is just a block away from Hayward's northern border.

Corsoloni, then a six-year veteran of the Hayward police force, was alone when he responded to emergency reports of a fight there.

Police have said he arrived at the street to find Solis fighting another man with what appeared to be a pipe.

Solis had a minor criminal record and was involved in an incident on Laurel Avenue earlier the same day, police have said.

While police last year said Solis rushed at the officer, the lawsuit says the officer rushed at Solis and struck him on the head with a police baton.

The lawsuit states Solis then dropped whatever object he had been holding, yet was continuously battered and cursed at by Corsolini.

It states that Solis grabbed the officer so that the two were face-to-face on the street and continued holding on as the officer struck him.

Hayward police reinforcements arrived at the scene after Corsolini had shot Solis several times, according to the lawsuit. Solis was pronounced dead at the scene.

In an interview at the scene last year, an eyewitness, Paul Fernandez, told a Daily Review reporter that he thought the officer's actions were justified.

"The cop was beating him with his baton, but the dude was getting the better of the cop," Fernandez said. "He was pulling the head of the cop. We were thinking about going over to help him."

Mata, however, said at the time that the officer never gave his friend a warning.

"He just got out of his car and attacked him with his club. The cop was doing his job," Mata said. "But the thing he did that was wrong was shoot."

Matt O'Brien can be reached at (510) 293-2473 or mattobrien@dailyreviewonline.com.