OCEANSIDE — Despite filing a lawsuit for monetary damages against the city of San Diego, it’s not just about the money for a mother and her young son who were shot by an off-duty San Diego police officer.

In the two claims filed against the city by Rachel Leann Silva and her ex-husband, who filed a claim on behalf of their 8-year-old son, Johnny, attorney Eugene Iredale states that the Silvas believe the events of March 15 could have been avoided if not for a lack of administrative policies relating to the training, supervision and monitoring by the San Diego Police Department. Further, if the claims were denied, an injunctive relief requesting policy changes would be sought in the aforementioned areas.

The requested policy changes would be as follows:

— Periodic psychological testing and evaluation of law enforcement personnel for psychiatric disorders relating to rage.

— The training of police officers about the limitations imposed by the law relating to their off-duty conduct.

— Regulations or restrictions imposed on off-duty officers to carry a loaded firearm.

— Clarifying the rules of conduct that prohibit the supervisors of the San Diego Police Department from improper intervention by other jurisdictions when dealing with criminal conduct by the department’s off-duty officers.

In addition, the Silvas are seeking an unspecified amount of money relating to the physical and emotional damages they suffered from the incident, the claim states.

Before a lawsuit can be brought against a city, a claim has to be filed.

According to the claims, the incident occurred in the parking lot of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store at 155 Old Grove Road in Oceanside, as a result of a traffic dispute. After Silva and Officer Franklin “Frank” White, 28, exchanged words, White became enraged and fired five shots at the car, the claim states.

Silva, 27, had a bone in her upper right arm shattered by one of the two shots that hit her, while her son was shot once in his leg, Iredale states in the claim.

The claims allege that during the incident White announced he was a San Diego police officer and ordered Silva to turn off her engine as she backed up in an effort to avoid the gunfire. At the time she was calling 911 and repeatedly told White she couldn’t turn off the car because she was injured, the claim states.

Iredale also alleges in the claims that White is “manifestly unsuited” for employment as police officer. Further, “his temperament and aggressive nature make him a clear and continuing danger to citizens,” the claim states.

In lieu of the September 2006 shooting of ex-Chargers linebacker Steve Foley by an off-duty Coronado police officer, the county’s law enforcement agencies set forth a uniformed policy last May about officer conduct while off duty.

According to the San Diego County Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, off-duty officers must, if reasonably possible, identify themselves as a police officer and their intent to stop the criminal action. Further, any action relating to the intervention of a crime by the off-duty officer will be governed by the policies and procedures of the law enforcement agency, the policy states.

White, of Oceanside, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation by the Oceanside Police Department and an internal review by the San Diego Police Department, authorities said. He has been with the San Diego Police Department since October 2005.