SAN DIEGO -- Coronado police Officer Aaron Mansker followed department policy and wasn't a renegade "cowboy" when he shot former San Diego Chargers linebacker Steve Foley, an attorney for the policeman said Monday.

Attorney Norman Watkins said Foley had consumed the equivalent of at least 18 shots of whiskey and then decided to drive a souped-up "muscle car," dismissing the limousine he had hired for a night of partying.

It was that decision, driven by what Watkins repeatedly called Foley's poor judgment, that led to the off-duty Mansker following Foley from downtown San Diego to the former football player's home in Poway in the early morning hours of Sept. 3, 2006.

Once they arrived, Watkins said, it was Foley's inebriated state that led him to get out of his car and storm toward Mansker, resulting in the officer's decision to shoot.

Watkins, who also is representing the city of Coronado, told jurors that Foley's blood-alcohol was more than three times the legal limit of 0.08.

"When you drink that much, you have poor judgement," Watkins said during his opening statement in the 32-year-old Foley's suit against Mansker and the city of Coronado. "You're pretty much oblivious to what is happening around you."

Mansker and the city of Coronado are being sued for battery, excessive force and negligence. Five months after the incident, which sparked public debate about drunken driving and the actions of off-duty police officers, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis ruled that Mansker had shot in self-defense.

Watkins told the seven women and five men hearing the case before Superior Court Judge Richard Strauss that Mansker had just finished a shift in Coronado and was on his way home in his personal vehicle when he spotted Foley's restored Oldsmobile Cutlass weaving and speeding up and then slowing.

Mansker was following Coronado Police Department procedures that advise officers even when off duty to track suspected drunken drivers, Watkins said, displaying on a screen the portion of the city's directive in such situations.

"Here we had a young officer who was just trying to do his job," Watkins told the jurors as the tan-suited Foley sat quietly with his attorneys. "He is not a cowboy."

Mansker tracked Foley up State Route 163 and Interstate 15, repeatedly notifying police dispatchers of what was occurring, Watkins said, underscoring his remarks by playing the tape that recorded that conversation.

At one point after exiting I-15, Mansker told dispatchers he had pulled alongside Foley's car, told him he was a police officer and ordered him to stop.

That command was met by an expletive from Foley, who ignored Mansker and continued toward his former home, Watkins said.

Once their vehicles reached Foley's street, the two cars stopped and Foley got out of his vehicle and began striding toward Mansker, again ignoring orders to stop.

When Foley continued to disregard the command, Mansker, fearing for his life, fired the shots, Watkins said.

Foley later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving while under the influence.

The injuries he suffered that night ended Foley's football career, his attorney Harvey Levine said. Levine had the floor for the start of Monday's court session to complete the opening statement that he started on Thursday. The court was in recess Friday.

Mansker, who had been on the job in Coronado for 13 months, "made his own rules that night," Levine contended.

Treating his injuries coupled with projections of what he lost by being unable to continue his NFL career has cost Foley more than $18 million, Levine said, suggesting the jury will be asked to award that amount or more when the trial ends.

"He thought he was going to die," Levine said of what Foley told him went through his mind as he lay bleeding. "Mister Foley will testify he is just glad to be alive because he didn't think he was going to be."

Foley, Levine suggested, did not act in an aggressive manner when he got out of his car and began to approach Mansker. Instead, Foley did not recognize Mansker as a policeman because he was out of uniform and he was simply trying to determine why he had been followed, Levine said.

The trial is expected to continue for at least four weeks with some of Foley's former Charger teammates expected to testify.

The start of Monday's session was briefly interrupted when defense attorneys asked that two men who were sitting in the gallery remove the Charger jerseys they were wearing. The men complied.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.