A Delta Police officer is being sued by a man he allegedly shot two years ago in Surrey.
In a civil suit filed last week, Michael Anthony Minchin claims he was sitting quietly and unarmed in the back seat of a car in a parking lot near 108 Avenue and 148 Street when he was shot on Nov. 7, 2013.
Minchin said Const. Vicken Movsessian, who was working with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) at the time, was a passenger in an unmarked car that arrived at the scene that day.
Minchin alleges the police officer approached the Toyota Camry he was in and “suddenly and without warning” pulled out his gun and fired at him.
The lawsuit says Minchin was struck in the left chest area and taken to hospital for treatment. He claims he suffered nerve damage, permanent loss of arm and shoulder function, scarring and disfigurement, among other injuries and pain for which he is seeking general damages.
He also seeks punitive damages.
“…the defendant was willful, malicious, contemptuous and high-handed, and showed a wanton disregard of the personal rights of the plaintiff,” says the lawsuit, which also names the Corporation of Delta and the province as defendants.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and a response has yet to be filed.
Movsessian, 46, was also charged criminally last spring with careless use of a firearm in connection with the shooting, following an investigation by the IIO (Independent Investigations Office) of B.C., which examines all police officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death. His trial for that matter is scheduled for 12 days beginning in October 2016.
Movsessian has been on administrative leave since the incident.
