Officers Sue Bank Robbers -- Shootout With `Hollywood,' Gang Left Scars, Police Say

A group of law-enforcement officers, contending they suffered emotional distress in a November shootout with the so-called "Hollywood" bank robber and two accomplices, are suing the robbers for damages.

The lawsuit names the estate of ringleader William Scott Scurlock, who died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound the day after the robbery, and his accomplices, Steve Paul Meyers, 47, of New Orleans, and Mark John Biggins, 42, of Oxnard, Calif.

Meyers and Biggins, arrested in the early stages of the Nov. 27 shootout in North Seattle, pleaded guilty to federal bank-robbery charges in the $1 million heist and are scheduled for sentencing May 12.

Scurlock, known as "Hollywood" for the theatrical disguises he wore during robberies, fled the shootout but was found the next morning in a nearby camper. A shot was heard as police closed in, and Scurlock was dead when officers reached him.

The lawsuit, filed by six members of the Puget Sound Violent Crime Task Force in Thurston County Superior Court last week, alleges "extreme and outrageous" behavior by the robbers - a reference to the shootout.

"In the course of attempting to evade capture, defendants attempted to murder, maim and-or seriously wound plaintiffs," says the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

Seattle attorney Lincoln Sieler, who is representing the plaintiffs, would not name his clients and said they were not ready to comment.

State law says law officers can file claims for injuries resulting from "a willful criminal assault occurring after the officer arrived at the scene of a disturbance," Sieler said.

The lawsuit names Scurlock's parents, William and Mary Jane Scurlock of Olympia, the executors of his estate, and Biggins and Meyers.

Scurlock's estate is valued at $106,000, Sieler said. Olympia is in Thurston County, and the lawsuit was filed there because that is where the estate is based.

Scurlock's parents could not be reached for comment.

An investigation is under way to determine whether Scurlock's estate and his accomplices' assets were acquired by illegal means, FBI spokesman Ray Lauer said.

In December, federal agents found weapons, makeup and more than $20,000 cash in a barn and treehouse Scurlock owned near Olympia, according to court documents.

Scurlock and his companions were involved in a shootout with officers of the task force after robbing the Lake City branch of Seafirst Bank and fleeing in a stolen van to the Ravenna neighborhood.

Scurlock fled before Meyers and Biggins were wounded and captured. Scurlock hid overnight in a small camper but was spotted the next day by two sons of the camper's owner. Police surrounded the camper and riddled it with bullets. An autopsy, however, revealed Scurlock had taken his own life.

Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Dee Norton is included in this report.