Braga

An FBI agent who mistakenly shot an unarmed Pasadena man in the face last year says in court papers that he believed the unwitting victim was a wanted bank robber who was reaching for a weapon when, "in a split-second decision," the agent fired "a single shot for his and his fellow officers' safety." Special Agent Christopher R. Braga offered his first detailed account of the event in court papers made public yesterday as he and two other agents argued that a $10 million federal lawsuit brought by shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz lacks merit and should be dismissed.

A federal appeals court gave a green light yesterday to a lawsuit filed against an FBI agent in the shooting of a Pasadena man whom the agent mistook for a bank robber. Last year, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz could proceed to trial in the civil lawsuit against Special Agent Christopher Braga. The FBI agent appealed Motz's ruling, arguing that as a law enforcement officer, he had immunity from such claims. That argument was rejected by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., whose judges upheld Motz's ruling.

A federal appeals court gave a green light yesterday to a lawsuit filed against an FBI agent in the shooting of a Pasadena man whom the agent mistook for a bank robber. Last year, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz could proceed to trial in the civil lawsuit against Special Agent Christopher Braga. The FBI agent appealed Motz's ruling, arguing that as a law enforcement officer, he had immunity from such claims. That argument was rejected by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., whose judges upheld Motz's ruling.

THE Baltimore branch of the NAACP thinks it's a big whoop that the FBI is investigating the death of Raymond K. Smoot, an inmate at Central Booking and Intake Center who died after being subdued by correctional officers. Honchos at Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services don't have a problem with an FBI probe either. Neither does prominent Baltimore attorney A. Dwight Pettit and at least one member of Smoot's family. Smoot died Sunday after a brawl with Central Booking guards the previous day. After Smoot's death, two correctional officers told officials in their union that they saw some of their co-workers kick, punch and stomp Smoot.

An Anne Arundel County grand jury decided yesterday not to indict an FBI agent who mistook an unarmed Pasadena man for a suspected bank robber and shot him in the face. The grand jury deliberated 20 minutes before declining to indict Special Agent Christopher Braga on charges of first-degree assault, second-degree assault or reckless endangerment in the shooting, county prosecutors said. Braga shot Joseph C. Schultz, 20, in the face with an M-4 rifle March 1. Schultz was riding in a car driven by his girlfriend when FBI agents, searching for a suspect believed to be armed, pulled the car over on Fort Smallwood Road.

A federal judge in Baltimore ruled yesterday that a $10 million excessive-force claim can go forward against an FBI agent who shot an unarmed Pasadena man in the face after mistaking him for a bank robber. It was a key hurdle in the closely watched case involving Special Agent Christopher R. Braga, who shot Joseph C. Schultz with an M-4 rifle during a botched arrest March 1 last year. In a 24-page opinion, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that there was not enough evidence to dismiss Schultz's claim.

A federal judge yesterday rejected an FBI agent's claim that he should be immune from two $10 million lawsuits that, if successful, would hold him personally liable for shooting a Pasadena man he mistook for a bank robber. After a sometimes-passionate hearing, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz can proceed to trial in the civil lawsuit against Special Agent Christopher Braga. The trial is scheduled for next month. Schultz, now 23, was shot in the face March 1, 2002, after FBI agents searching for a bank robber stopped the car being driven by Schultz's then-girlfriend, Kristen M. Harkum of Pasadena.

A federal court hearing scheduled for this morning could determine the fate of a $10 million federal lawsuit brought by a Pasadena man who was mistaken for a bank robber and shot in the face by an FBI agent more than three years ago. At issue is whether the judge will grant the defendants' motion to dismiss the claims against Special Agent Christopher Braga and his supervisor, Henry F. Hanburger. Joseph C. Schultz, now 23, was shot in the face March 1, 2002, shattering his jaw, after FBI agents searching for a bank robber stopped the car being driven by Kristen M. Harkum of Pasadena, then 16. Harkum, Schultz's former girlfriend, was not wounded in the shooting, but she also has filed a $10 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, arguing that her constitutional rights were violated.

A grand jury investigating an FBI agent's mistaken shooting of an unarmed Pasadena man in March began taking testimony yesterday, with the wounded 20-year-old as one of the first witnesses. The Anne Arundel County grand jury is expected to hear many more witnesses as it considers whether to indict FBI Special Agent Christopher Braga for shooting Joseph Charles Schultz on March 1 as Schultz and his girlfriend returned from a trip to a mall. Braga mistook Schultz for a bank robbery suspect the agent and his unit were searching for that day and shot him in the face with an M-4 rifle.

One year after an FBI agent mistook an unarmed Pasadena man for a suspected bank robber and shot him in the face, the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to conclude its review of the incident and civil lawsuits remain a possibility. The legal maneuvering surrounds the events of March 1 last year, when Joseph C. Schultz was shot in the right jaw by Special Agent Christopher Braga after agents pulled over a car carrying Schultz and his girlfriend outside a 7-Eleven convenience store. Agents mistook Schultz, then 20, for a 32-year-old bank robbery suspect who was to have been lured to the store by an informant.

A federal judge yesterday rejected an FBI agent's claim that he should be immune from two $10 million lawsuits that, if successful, would hold him personally liable for shooting a Pasadena man he mistook for a bank robber. After a sometimes-passionate hearing, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz can proceed to trial in the civil lawsuit against Special Agent Christopher Braga. The trial is scheduled for next month. Schultz, now 23, was shot in the face March 1, 2002, after FBI agents searching for a bank robber stopped the car being driven by Schultz's then-girlfriend, Kristen M. Harkum of Pasadena.

A federal court hearing scheduled for this morning could determine the fate of a $10 million federal lawsuit brought by a Pasadena man who was mistaken for a bank robber and shot in the face by an FBI agent more than three years ago. At issue is whether the judge will grant the defendants' motion to dismiss the claims against Special Agent Christopher Braga and his supervisor, Henry F. Hanburger. Joseph C. Schultz, now 23, was shot in the face March 1, 2002, shattering his jaw, after FBI agents searching for a bank robber stopped the car being driven by Kristen M. Harkum of Pasadena, then 16. Harkum, Schultz's former girlfriend, was not wounded in the shooting, but she also has filed a $10 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, arguing that her constitutional rights were violated.

A federal judge in Baltimore ruled yesterday that a $10 million excessive-force claim can go forward against an FBI agent who shot an unarmed Pasadena man in the face after mistaking him for a bank robber. It was a key hurdle in the closely watched case involving Special Agent Christopher R. Braga, who shot Joseph C. Schultz with an M-4 rifle during a botched arrest March 1 last year. In a 24-page opinion, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that there was not enough evidence to dismiss Schultz's claim.

The Enterprise is under attack both on screen and off. In the past year, Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) earned $43 million, the lowest box office returns in film franchise history. Viacom, the conglomerate that ultimately owns Star Trek, was sued by Activision because it feared its Trek-themed computer games wouldn't sell. Meanwhile, the entire franchise has been lambasted by fans and the media alike. TV writer/producer Brannon Braga's response? Send in the marines. That is, the space marines or MACO (Military Assault Command Operations)

A $10 million lawsuit against three FBI agents involved in the mistaken-identity shooting of an unarmed Pasadena man should go forward, the victim's attorneys say in court papers asking a federal judge to reject the officers' claims of qualified immunity. Special Agent Christopher R. Braga and two other agents want the lawsuit brought by shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz to be dismissed, arguing that the shooting March 1 last year was a tragic accident but that the agents took reasonable steps as law enforcement officers that should protect them from legal action.

IN SOME portions of the real world, you pay for your mistakes. Just try making an error on your tax return. Let's say you make a boo-boo and compute that you should get a $2,000 return. The Internal Revenue Service catches the mistake, and instead you owe $2,000. What happens? Does the IRS say, "You made a mistake, but we'll let it slide" or do they insist on getting their money one way or another? We all know the answer. In school, if you made a mistake on a test, it cost you. Sometimes the difference between passing and failing depended on one stupid mistake on a test.

The FBI's ill-fated search for a bank robbery suspect, which led to the March shooting of an unarmed Pasadena man, was flawed from the start, according to an Anne Arundel County police report released yesterday. Problems ranging from malfunctioning equipment to poor supervision are detailed in the investigative report, which recounts the FBI shooting of 20-year-old Joseph C. Schultz in a case of mistaken identity. Among the findings of the 128-page report: Agents were working with a faulty radio system, with only one agent able to communicate with county police.

An FBI agent who mistakenly shot an unarmed Pasadena man in the face last year says in court papers that he believed the unwitting victim was a wanted bank robber who was reaching for a weapon when, "in a split-second decision," the agent fired "a single shot for his and his fellow officers' safety." Special Agent Christopher R. Braga offered his first detailed account of the event in court papers made public yesterday as he and two other agents argued that a $10 million federal lawsuit brought by shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz lacks merit and should be dismissed.