U.S. Opens Probe Into Deputy Death : Inquiry: Officials are gathering evidence to weigh whether officer broke federal civil rights statute in shooting of colleague. County grand jury refused to indict him.

WASHINGTON —  One month after an Orange County grand jury refused to issue a criminal indictment, federal officials have stepped in to review the Christmas Day shooting of a veteran sheriff’s deputy by a fellow officer during a training exercise.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether grounds exist to indict Deputy Brian P. Scanlan under federal criminal civil rights law, department spokesman Myron Marlin said Friday.

The inquiry, launched in Washington, will try to determine whether Scanlan was simply negligent or intended to harm his fellow officer, Deputy Darryn Leroy Robins, 30, who died of head wounds inflicted by a single gunshot.

The review may answer criticism from Orange County minority groups who have insisted that the district attorney’s office was too close to the Sheriff’s Department to fairly investigate the volatile case. These critics have also questioned whether race played a part in the shooting because Robins was black and Scanlan is white.

Community groups had prodded the Justice Department to look into the case after the grand jury made a rare rejection March 10 of a prosecutor’s request: a manslaughter indictment against Scanlan. The district attorney’s office, which conducted the investigation, said the 32-year-old deputy was “grossly negligent” in training with a loaded weapon during an impromptu exercise that led up to the fatal shooting.

Authorities say the two deputies were running through a mock car-stop behind a Lake Forest movie theater, with Robins playing the suspect and Scanlan the arresting officer. Scanlan maintained in an interview with investigators that he shot Robins accidentally after he was startled to see him pull a handgun from the visor of his car. Robins was apparently imitating a technique used by gang members to get the drop on police.

Marlin said FBI agents have been dispatched to gather evidence weighing whether Scanlan broke a federal statute that bars anyone from depriving a person of his civil rights. But to lodge such a charge, officials would have to demonstrate that the deputy intended to harm Scanlan.

Orange County prosecutors were skeptical whether that could be done.

“After three days of testimony and 14 witnesses, the Orange County Grand Jury was unwilling to indict for aggravated, reckless and grossly negligent behavior. So is it likely the feds will indict? I don’t think so,” Assistant Dist. Atty. John D. Conley said.

Scanlan and his attorney, James B. Stotler, could not be reached for comment. Undersheriff Raul Ramos said his department will cooperate with the federal investigation, but he said the FBI and other federal officials have not notified them formally about the review.

“Quite frankly, this thing has lingered on and on,” Ramos said. “My heart goes out to the families of the affected officers as it gets prolonged into another investigation. On the other hand, the facts are pretty straightforward and there’s nothing to hide. So if somebody else looks into it, that’s fine.”

Leaders of various community groups praised the Justice Department’s decision to review the case, arguing that federal investigators will have a more independent perspective than the district attorney’s office, which often works with the Sheriff’s Department on criminal cases.

“That’s the only way uneasiness will be laid to rest,” said Amin David, a Latino activist with Los Amigos of Orange County, who met with members of the grand jury weeks ago to discuss this and other cases of minority interest.

Eugene M. Wheeler, president of the civic group 100 Black Men of Orange County, said the federal investigation probably would have been unnecessary had local authorities investigated the incident in a more open fashion in the first place.

“They could have prevented all this embarrassment,” said Wheeler, whose group has consistently complained about the process. “They should do their job. Their explanation was not satisfactory as to why the case went to the grand jury when the district attorney indicated that charges should have been filed.”

In the local investigation, prosecutors relied heavily on information provided by Scanlan. They say there were no other witnesses to the shooting, because two other deputies on the scene were waiting around a corner for their turn to run through the exercise.

To seek a federal indictment, prosecutors will have to demonstrate that the shooting was something more than a tragic accident, a premise that will be difficult to prove. Minority leaders acknowledge that they have no evidence that race played a part in the killing, or in the way authorities handled the investigation.

And in hundreds of pages of investigative files released by the district attorney’s office last month, there was little or no evidence produced to suggest the shooting was intentional.

Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor of criminal law at Loyola Marymount University Law School, said that federal civil rights actions are generally rare and difficult to prove.

“You’re either going to have to show a conspiracy or show the officer acted intentionally,” she said.

She added that federal investigators have the advantage of distance and independence in reviewing a controversial local matter.

“They serve the purpose of letting people know there’s been a fair investigation by people who don’t have a particular interest,” Levenson said. “People should know that just because they’ve opened an investigation does not mean they’re marching toward an indictment.”

Times staff writer Dan Weikel contributed to this report.