Lawsuit claiming SLO detective was killed by ‘friendly fire’ thrown out. But it’s not over

The mother of the man who killed San Luis Obispo Police Det. Luca Benedetti is appealing the decision to throw out her federal lawsuit against the city.

Eddie Giron shot and killed Benedetti on May 10, 2021, when the detective and other officers went to his home to execute a search warrant relating to what officials said was a string of commercial burglaries. Officials said at the time Giron was “lying in wait” and opened fire when officers entered his home.

Police said Giron killed Benedetti, injured Det. Steve Orozco and was hit by officers’ gunfire before he ultimately killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot.

A lawsuit filed in 2022 by Giron’s mother, Caroline Wichman, claimed that city and county officials and the Police Department put forth a false narrative to frame Giron as a “deranged cop killer” and alleged the shots that killed Benedetti and injured Orozco and also killed Giron were “friendly fire” actually fired by police.

But body camera footage released in June 2023 showed Giron did fire first after officers broke down his door and attempted to serve the warrant, disproving that claim. Video shows that first shot hit Benedetti in the head, which reports say killed him.

According to court records, Wichman’s lawyer, David Kaufman, withdrew from the case after viewing the video and reading the reports in September 2022, citing “a fundamental disagreement” with his client over how to manage and proceed with the litigation. Wichman went on to represent herself in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was dismissed in June after Wichman missed several filing dates and failed to prove there was evidence to support her claims, court records show, but on Monday Wichman filed an appeal in an attempt to keep the lawsuit in court.

Now, Wichman claims that not only was her son unfairly targeted by police, but also that city and county officials slandered her

in the aftermath of the shooting through the statements police shared, adding that she was “racially profiled” because of her “afilliations with the Black community and people of color.”

She held that excessive force was used against her son and alleged that law enforcement officers involved in the shooting and leadership used the shooting to “grandstand” themselves to the SLO community.

She requested $13 million in damages from each defendant in the case.

Wichman claimed in the appeal a “wrongful dismissal” took place in the case and closed without clarity of her position.

According to the city’s and county’s motions to dismiss, Wichman did not have a factual basis for any of her claims, to which a federal judge agreed.

“It remains the city’s position that dismissal was legally supported,” San Luis Obispo city attorney Christine Dietrick told The Tribune, calling the appeal “a painful waste of resources (that) continues to prolong pain for all involved.”

According to the appeal, Wichman reported she has $52 in her savings and $2 in her checking account and reported $15,000 of taxable income during 2023.

According to court documents, Wichman must have her appellate brief filed by Oct. 8. If she misses the deadline, it will be dismissed.

Wichman told The Tribune that it “doesn’t feel like I had a fair shake because I don’t have an attorney.”

Because of this, she said, she’s had to wait on advice from the legal clinic in Los Angeles to help her file documents while the city and county have “high-power” legal teams.

“I’m gonna fight it until they tell me I can’t anymore,” she said.