The family of Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old boy with autism who was shot and killed by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies outside his Apple Valley home this month, has filed a wrongful death claim against the county, the county announced. lawyers during a press conference. Thursday.
The claim, which indicates the family plans to sue the county, says the legal action could center on allegations of assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“Under no circumstances should you shoot and kill a 15-year-old autistic boy with a garden hoe without taking the time to calm him down before using deadly force,” said John Burris, a civil rights attorney who is among the representatives of the family. he said in a prepared statement. “The police conduct was unreasonable.”
A poster-sized photograph of the murdered Ryan Gainer sits at the spot where he was killed. Gainer, a 15-year-old with autism, was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies outside his Apple Valley home earlier this month.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
About 40 family, friends and community members stood in front of the family's Apple Valley home during Thursday's news conference. Most dressed in black in mourning, while some held signs in tribute to the teenager.
One of those signs, quoting Ryan, read, “Make sure you have a great day, be the spark, and make sure you spread kindness.”
Family members, activists and observers displayed a five-foot-long hula hoe, a type of gardening tool that has a D-shaped metal attachment on the end for digging in the ground, that Gainer was holding when he was shot. Police alleged that the garden tool had “a sharp, sharp end.” Several people verified on Thursday that the worn and dull instrument did not have any sharp edges.
Ryan's death has raised concerns among activists about law enforcement's use of force against people with autism and those suffering from mental health issues.
“He was a super smart, kind, generous, respectable, thoughtful, funny, goofy, charismatic person who always saw the good in people,” his family wrote on a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising money for funeral expenses.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
Rebecca Gainer, sister of murdered Ryan Gainer, comforts her wheelchair-bound mother, Sharon Hayward, during a news conference.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Officers responded to the Gainer family home on March 9 after Ryan became angry because his parents had required him to complete household chores before he was allowed to play video games or listen to music on his computer. A family member called 911 for help and asked that deputies be sent to “take him in” because he was breaking windows and hitting his sister, according to a portion of the call released by the San County Sheriff's Department. Bernardino.
Ryan seemed to calm down and had apologized to his family, so Ryan's cousin called 911 a second time to let them know they no longer needed help. But agents were already on their way, according to the claim.
Body camera footage shows the first officer announcing himself at the front door and saying “where is he?” The announcement surprised Ryan, who began walking toward the door holding a hula hoe, the claim states.
The officer yelled, “Hey, come back, they're going to shoot you,” as Ryan approached him. Body camera footage from a second officer at another angle showed the first officer pointing his gun and shooting at Ryan as he ran from the teen. The second officer, who had just arrived at the house, pulled his gun and also opened fire, the footage shows. The officers fired a total of three rounds, according to the department.
Officers had visited the home five other times this year, and the family's attorneys argue they should have been familiar with Ryan. It's unclear how much information deputies had when they arrived at the home, but Ryan had been taken to a mental health facility several times during authorities' previous visits to the home, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. during a press conference last week. .
Dicus defended the officers' actions during the news conference, saying they were forced to make a split-second decision and followed their training protocols.
