A family is suing the city of Sacramento for the death of their mentally distressed son.
Darell Richards' family filed the suit in U.S. District Court on Monday, according to The Sacramento Bee. Richards was shot and killed by Sacramento Police on September 6.
Officers were responding to a 911 call about a masked man brandishing a gun. SWAT and K-9 officers searched for hours before they found Richards hiding under a stairwell, according to CBS. He allegedly pointed the weapon at them, and officers responded with gunfire. Investigators later determined it was a pellet gun designed to look like a 9mm weapon. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bodycam footage released a few days after the incident showed the moments leading up to Richards’ death but did not show the actual shooting.
The family disputes the police’s story in court documents.
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The suit claims Richards was “positioned in a surrender posture, with his palms open and facing the officers at the time that defendants began to shoot him.” A shot through his right palm was mentioned to add credibility.
“Decedent was not holding a firearm at the time that he was shot to death," the suit claims.
The family has been open about Richards’ mental illness and claim they were getting him help at the time of his death.
“I did see signs recently that something was wrong,” Marlena Lee, his sister, recalled on September 12. “Darell was not ever violent or argumentative. It wasn’t like him.”
He was scheduled for a mental health evaluation after he’d assaulted his younger brother twice. Richards was also said to be displaying signs of paranoia and uncharacteristic aggression.
“We worried about schizophrenia,” Lee continued. “We were trying to get him help, but it came a little too late. It’s heartbreaking.”
The lawsuit argues the police “made a series of tactical errors in attempting to detain him while he was in the midst of a mental health crisis” and did nothing to de-escalate the situation.
This lawsuit was filed two days after Sacramento County District Attorney Anne-Marie Schubert announced she would not pursue charges against the officers who fatally shot Stephon Clark.
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