Long Beach officials have agreed to pay $450,000 to an Orange County motorcyclist who sued the city alleging he was riding along an Irvine on-ramp when a Long Beach police officer crashed into him.
Around 12:25 p.m. on June 2, 2022, Costa Mesa resident Frank Gaytan was riding a 2010 Kawasaki motorcycle in the right lane of the Bake Parkway on-ramp to enter the 5 Freeway, according to his lawsuit.
At the same time, LBPD Officer Harrison Moore was in his department-issued 2016 Ford Explorer in the left lane of the ramp.
The lawsuit alleged Moore was traveling “greater than 40 miles per hour behind slower moving traffic,” while Gaytan was going between 20 and 25 miles per hour.
When Moore approached the traffic in front of him, he changed lanes from left to right causing his vehicle to hit the left side of Gaytan’s body and ejecting him from the bike onto the asphalt roadway, according to the lawsuit.
Moore was found as “the sole cause of the collision” and made “an unsafe lane change” in his patrol vehicle, the lawsuit alleged.
Gaytan provided a written claim for damages to the city of Long Beach, LBPD and Moore in December 2022, the lawsuit says, and a week later, his claim was formally rejected by the Office of the City Attorney.
The lawsuit was “regretfully filed,” Gaytan’s lawyer Thomas Reinecke wrote, because the city of Long Beach denied his claim and denied any responsibility for Moore causing the collision.
In the lawsuit, Gaytan requested compensation for all medical expenses, the value of the damaged motorcycle and lost wages along with the costs of litigation.
Public salary records showed Moore has been an officer with LBPD since 2014.
He remains employed with the department, according to an LBPD spokesperson.
Long Beach police did not respond to a question asking what if any assignment Moore was carrying out in Irvine on June 2, 2022.
The $450,000 settlement agreement was approved by the Long Beach City Council at Tuesday’s meeting.