The San Diego City Council Tuesday approved a $500,000 legal settlement with the father of a boy shot by a police officer during a road rage incident in Oceanside.
Johnny Silva was 8 years old on March 15, 2008, when he was shot in the knee by off-duty San Diego police Officer Frank White.
The boy was a passenger in a car driven by his mother, Rachel Leann Silva, who pulled out of a gas station in front of a vehicle occupied by White and his wife. The officer swerved to avoid her car, and she tailgated him, revved her car's engine, screeched the tires and accelerated and braked at the last moment in the parking lot, according to authorities.
Police said she then pulled up alongside the couple's car while shouting and sideswiped their vehicle, prompting the officer to fire his gun five times, striking her twice in the arm.
Authorities said the woman's blood-alcohol level was 0.15 percent, nearly double the legal limit. She was eventually sentenced to probation and drug treatment for her actions.
The settlement was unanimously approved by the City Council without comment as part of its consent agenda. It ends a personal injury lawsuit filed in federal court against the city by the boy's father, Luis Silva.
White was prosecuted for negligently discharging a firearm, but acquitted. He is still with the San Diego Police Department.
