COUNTY TO PAY IN BAR SLAYING : MAN SHOT BY DRUNK, OFF-DUTY DEPUTY.

Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer

A federal jury on Thursday awarded $750,000 to the family of a man slain by an off-duty and drunk Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was challenged to a fight outside a Rowland Heights bar in 1994.

The same jury earlier found Los Angeles County liable in John Huffman's death, concluding that the Sheriff's Department could have prevented the shooting with clear policies forbidding off-duty deputies from carrying guns when drinking, an attorney said.

``My hope is that (Sheriff Sherman Block) will listen to what this jury has to say and do something responsible,'' said attorney Carol Watson, who represented Huffman's family. ``My fear is that he will ignore it.''

The Sheriff's Department declined comment, but the attorney who represented the county at the trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles said he plans to file motions for reconsideration.

``This is a very novel situation in the sense that the deputy was off duty, on his own time, (and) not in the scope of employment,'' said attorney Rickey Ivie.

``I just think there are other issues in the case that still remain to be resolved,'' he said Thursday. ``The jury reached its decision. I don't agree with it.''

The deputy, Thomas R. Kirsh, remains on the job for the Sheriff's Department. Kirsh used his homeowners insurance policy to settle out of court for $300,000 before trial of the case against the county.

The District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges against Kirsh in the shooting. The Sheriff's Department has not ruled on whether the shooting of Huffman was justified.

The federal case questioned a Sheriff's Department policy that leaves it up to the deputies whether to carry a weapon while off duty.

Darrell Stewart, a spokesman for California Peace Officers Standards and Training or POST officials in Sacramento, said some officers believe they should carry a gun at all times because they are obligated to take action if a felony occurs in their presence - on or off duty.

Although POST sets selection and training standards for the state's officers, Stewart said individual law-enforcement agencies set their own policies on carrying weapons off duty.

``Firearms and alcohol is a deadly mix,'' said Stewart, ``and I'm sure that this issue is being addressed by departments internally.''

Officials with the Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department say there is no explicit policy about drinking and carrying a weapon off duty, but the hazards of being intoxicated in public while off duty are discussed.

And other policies governing off-duty conduct may cover such issues, they said.

Watson said lawsuits have been filed repeatedly against law enforcement over off-duty shootings and brandishing of weapons.

Individual officers have been sued in court, she said, and county officials have indemnified the county sheriff's officers, covering their court costs and any financial awards against them.

In this case, the county elected not to indemnify Kirsh, maintaining that he acted outside the scope of his employment.

According to testimony, John Frances Huffman, 29, was shot at close range outside the Rowland Heights bar.

Ivie claimed that Huffman challenged Kirsh to a fight or a wrestling match, even offering to pay him for it. The deputy accepted the offer to go outside,

Ivie contended, planning to tell Huffman to back off.

But when he stepped outside, the deputy was ambushed by Huffman, Ivie contends, and immediately was thrown to the ground in a struggle in which the gun was accidentally fired, shooting Huffman in the chest.

Attorneys representing Huffman's parents argued that it is irrelevant whether Huffman wrestled with the deputy or not.

They contend that Kirsh moved his gun from his bootleg to his waistband before stepping outside the bar and was prepared to shoot Huffman.

Kirsh had an alcohol level of 0.20 percent in his blood, more than twice the legal limit for motorists, two hours after the incident, according to testimony. Huffman had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 percent and tested positive for a small amount of cocaine in his system.

In declining to file criminal charges in May 1995, prosecutors noted the difficulty in determining what happened moments before the shooting - whether the act was intentional, accidental or the deputy's reaction to fear that Huffman would grab his gun and fire.

``One may question the wisdom of drinking to excess when one is armed with a firearm, albeit legally,'' prosecutor Katherine Mader wrote then. ``Such conduct is certainly ill-advised.''