Family Drops Lawsuit Alleging Man Was Unarmed When Slain by Police

The family of a Huntington Beach man fatally shot by police last year has dropped a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that he was unarmed when an officer fired several shots that struck him in the stomach.

The lawsuit was dropped three weeks before it was to go to trial. Gary A. Kessler, a lawyer representing the former girlfriend of David Blackman, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Kessler’s client, Desiree Ulmer, is the mother of Blackman’s child.

Neal Moore, an attorney representing the city of Huntington Beach and Aaron Smith, the officer involved, said Thursday that the lawsuit was groundless.

“My feeling is that there was never any basis for filing it in the first place,” Moore said. “There was never any evidence at all to suggest that [Smith] did anything wrong.”

Blackburn, 44, died April 22 outside an apartment where Ulmer ran a small day-care center. He had been shot by police responding to a domestic disturbance call.

The lawsuit alleged that he was shot point-blank with his hands up as several officers looked on. Moore said Blackburn was shot only after making repeated threats to officers as he advanced on them aggressively with his hand in his jacket pocket as if he had a gun.