Family of Man Slain by Deputies Threatens to Sue : Law: Relatives say two officers who shot the Glendale mental patient, 30, overreacted. Officials say he lunged at the pair with a broken metal crutch.

A day after two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a Glendale man menacing them with a broken crutch, the family of the dead man threatened legal action, charging that officers overreacted.

Deputies shot at Aaron Cease 12 times as he lunged at them with the jagged edge of a broken metal crutch early Sunday in Glendale, according to investigators and witnesses. Both the Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office are investigating the shooting, standard practice for deaths that involve law enforcement officers.

The identities of the deputies were not released. Sheriff’s officials declined to comment about the standard procedure that deputies are supposed to use when confronted by people who will not yield to verbal commands.

“We don’t want people playing Monday morning quarterback” until all the facts are available, said Sgt. Larry Lincoln.

In general, he said, “We have a lot of options available. . . . We (don’t) want to paint anybody into a corner.”

Deputy Bob Taylor, who is investigating the shooting, said Cease--6-foot-3 and 148 pounds--was “within striking distance” when the deputies opened fire. He said that the deputies were carrying pepper spray or Mace and that a field supervisor, who was en route, would have had a Taser gun. Taylor refused to comment on whether the shooting was appropriate.

Cease’s sister, Rachel Roberg, said her father, Wesley Cease, was planning to sue the Sheriff’s Department. Family members said Aaron Cease, 30, suffered from “major depression” and had been under a doctor’s care for 12 years but had never been violent.

“He was frail--tall and slender,” Roberg said. “I think he could have been tackled. . . . I think they just didn’t know what to do. They were nervous. It was the first thing they thought of.”

Family members speculated that Cease was on his way to a convenience store a few blocks from his home at the time of the shooting. Three or four times each week, Cease made the trek to the store at Montrose and La Crescenta avenues in Glendale.

He would go to the cash register and ask: “Did my mother call?” If she had, the clerks had orders to let Cease buy his cigarettes, coffee or wine on his mother’s credit.

“I knew the guy personally. He was a mentally unstable person who wasn’t going to harm anyone,” said Jay Singh, manager of the store.

Deputies arrived in the 2500 block of Montrose after midnight in response to calls from residents and motorists who said they saw Cease swinging the broken crutch at pedestrians and parked cars, Taylor said.

Deputy Fidel Gonzales said Cease approached the two deputies in a threatening manner and began swinging the crutch at them. Despite orders to stop, Cease continued toward them, Gonzales said. After the deputies had backed up about 120 feet with Cease in close quarters, Cease lunged at them and they opened fire, he said.

Residents said Monday that they heard one set of shots, a pause and then a second stream of shots. Taylor said Cease continued moving toward the deputies after the first set of shots.

Cease’s mother, Doreen Cease, said her son had the crutch to help with an ankle broken within the last year. Sheriff’s deputies disputed that the ankle was injured and said there were indications that Cease had been drinking.

Results of a preliminary autopsy conducted Monday will reveal if Cease was drunk or whether his ankle had not yet healed.