City of Whittier (Subrogee of Charles Hoover) v. United States Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration), Les Kinney

On May 9, 1973, Police Lieutenant Charles Hoover, an employee of the City of Whittier, California (City), was working in cooperation with and at the request of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in attempting to apprehend suspects involved in narcotics trafficking. Specifically, Lt. Hoover was working with Federal Drug Abuse Law Enforcement Officers (DALE), a federally-funded narcotics enforcement program.

During the course of this activity, Lt. Hoover sustained serious injuries from a gunshot wound to his arm and his chest inflicted by Special Agent Les Kinney, an employee of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. As a result, the City paid Lt. Hoover some $14,000, pursuant to the State of California’s Workmen’s Compensation statutes and additional payments by the City were contemplated.

Claiming to be subrogated to Hoover’s rights, the City brought this action under the Federal Tort Claims Act ( 28 U.S.C. § 2674 ), and named as defendants the United States Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration) and Les Kinney. The complaint expressly alleged that the injuries to Hoover were proximately caused by the negligence of Special Agent…