LOS ANGELES -- A police officer whose partner shot and killed an unarmed teenager has sued the city for a new house, claiming death threats made it impossible to stay in the old home, it was reported Thursday.
The suit, filed in Superior Court by 14-year police veteran Michael Sullivan, claims the city must pay him and his wife at least $65,000 because he was forced to purchase a new home and install an alarm system in it.
The controversial Oct. 15, 1980 shooting of Kenneth Ramirez of Mission Hills, Calif., by Sullivan's partner, Wendell Rhinehart, generated extensive publicity and dozens of death threats against Sullivan and his family, according to Sullivan's lawyer, Michael Calof.
Because of the threats, Sullivan's home was placed under around-the-clock police protection and Sullivan purchased a $650 alarm system. Later, the family purchased a new, more expensive house.
Their first house cost $56,000 with monthly payments of $420. The new house cost $121,000 with monthly payments of $1,400, according to the suit. Sullivan is seeking to have the city police department pay the difference in monthly payments for the next six years -- the earliest possible date that he can retire with a full pension, Calof said.
