Victim of ’88 Police Shooting Arrested Again

A Torrance man who was partially paralyzed during a 1988 police shooting has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a stolen motorcycle.

Patrick Coyle, 32, was arrested Thursday night after Torrance officers stopped him at Sepulveda Boulevard and Western Avenue for driving a motorcycle with a noisy muffler, Sgt. Ron Traber said. Coyle’s bail was set at $1,000.

Coyle also faces arraignment Jan. 25 on a drug possession charge. He was arrested in November when officers saw a vial of crystals, which proved to be two grams of methamphetamine, in his car. Officers had pulled him over after mistaking him for another man who had violated parole.

Coyle was shot in May, 1988, after Torrance officers stopped him on Western Avenue. Officer Timothy Pappas, who later said Coyle was acting suspiciously in a neighborhood frequented by drug dealers, fired a single shot that hit Coyle in the chin and partially paralyzed him.

Initially, Pappas and officers Mark Holden and Timothy Thornton told superiors that Pappas fired his gun when Coyle reached suddenly toward a shiny object in his waistband. Then Coyle filed suit and Thornton came forward to say the shooting had been unprovoked. All three officers were fired.

The city has admitted liability in the incident, although no settlement has been reached in Coyle’s lawsuit.

Pappas was fined $2,500 earlier this month and placed on probation for one year after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of falsifying a police report and obstructing an investigation.

Holden has been ordered to stand trial on conspiracy charges. Thornton was granted immunity to testify against Pappas and Holden.