Family files excessive force lawsuit against Tustin police for killing of homeless man
The family of a homeless man who was shot and killed by a Tustin police officer have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that she and her fellow officers used excessive force.
Luis Manuel Garcia was reportedly suffering from mental health issues when he was confronted by police on Aug. 9 near a mobile home community. The lawsuit alleges that officers quickly escalated the situation with Garcia. Tustin police body camera footage released in November shows that the time from when the officers first made contact with Garcia to when the fatal gunshots were fired lasted one minute and 17 seconds. The fatal rounds were fired by Officer Estella Silva.
The family is being represented by civil rights attorney Dale Galipo and the Carrillo Law Firm.
“The use of force against [Garcia] was excessive and objectively unreasonable under the circumstances, particularly because DEFENDANTS were aware that [Garcia] suffered from a mental illness, and because [Garcia] had not harmed anyone and did not pose a credible lethal threat to any person,” the lawsuit says. “DEFENDANTS were aware that he had not committed a crime, and that he did not pose an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to anyone at any time immediately prior to or during the use of force.”
The California Department of Justice is investigating the shooting under Assembly Bill 1506, which requires the department to investigate all police shootings resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state. Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer’s office is assisting with the investigation.
Tustin Police Lt. Matt Nunley said the department could not comment on the lawsuit because it’s an active investigation.
According to the lawsuit and police body camera footage of the incident, police received a call from a resident that led to the police response. The caller reported that her neighbor had seen a homeless man two days prior living in the bushes near the Saddleback Mobilodge community at 15401 Williams St. She says he had a “big, huge steak knife.”
When the dispatcher asked if the woman had seen the knife that day and whether he was holding or pointing it at people, the resident said she last saw him with the knife the day before and he was “swinging his hands, and walking around and talking to himself.” The resident described the homeless man as a white male in his 30s with blond hair.
“The alleged suspect described in that call does not match the description of Luis Garcia,” the lawsuit says.
Silva and other unidentified officers responded to the scene, where they found Garcia behind some bushes. Silva forcefully told Garcia to exit the bushes several times before he attempted to exit. Garcia had a stick in one of his hands that he used to collect recyclables and a bag of empty cans in his other hand, the lawsuit says. Garcia also told officers that he was collecting recyclables.
“While barking orders at [Garcia], an unknown city officer shot [Garcia] with a taser,” the lawsuit says. “While receiving a cycle from the taser, without justification, Officer Silva shot and killed Luis Garcia. [Garcia] never threatened Officer Silva or other officers who had responded. [Garcia] did not pose an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury, there was no verbal warning that deadly force would be used, and there were other reasonable options with respect to the use of force and detaining [Garcia].
“Despite the foregoing facts, Officer Silva fired her gun at [Garcia] and [Garcia] was killed by Officer Silva. All DEFENDANTS participated in the use of deadly force against [Garcia] by either directly using force against [Garcia], or by failing to intervene to stop the use of deadly force against [Garcia].”
Galipo said in a phone interview this week that he has worked on hundreds of police shooting cases, but he finds the killing of Garcia “particularly egregious.”
“You got a guy who’s homeless, maybe having a mental health crisis in some bushes, with a bag of recyclables in one hand and a stick together, presumably that he uses to collect cans,” Galipo said. “He’s asked to come out. I think the tone of the officer is very inappropriate. I think she escalated the situation. Officers are supposed to be trained in situations like this to deescalate it.”
”... She knew based on her training, I would assume, that shooting someone in the chest is likely to kill him. I just think it was extremely excessive and unnecessary, and we really have to expect better from our law enforcement officers.”
In a past interview, Rosalia Becerra, Garcia’s former partner of about 15 years, said he normally had the stick because he used it to pick up recyclables from big dumpsters. She said he didn’t let go of his stick or bag likely because he relied on them. She also said that he wasn’t using the stick in a violent or threatening manner. He didn’t point the stick at the officers or attempt to swing it, she said.
Becerra, who has two daughters with Garcia, also said Garcia’s mental health issues started worsening after he became homeless after their relationship ended about six years ago. Becerra said that she kept in touch with Garcia while he was homeless because of their daughters. The family tried to help him, but he wanted to do things on his own.
Galipo said that Silva indicated in the body cam footage that she knew Garcia, so she should have known his mental health issues.
“If you look at a lot of shootings, many times the person shot has some type of mental illness or is going through some mental health crisis,” Galipo said. “But sometimes it seems, and I’m not saying all officers, but a lot of officers really escalate the situation and make it worse ... Given that she referenced that she knew him before, that he was someone that was homeless and living in the bushes, that should at least suggest to a professional person, this person may have some mental illness.”
In the last few years, advocates in Orange County have been focusing their attention on excessive force being used against people experiencing homelessness and mental illness. Another case that is being investigated by the state under AB1506 is the Anaheim police killing of Brandon Lopez, a cousin of Santa Ana Councilman Johnathan Hernandez. Galipo is also representing the family in the Lopez case along with Vicki Sarmiento, a civil rights attorney.
Lopez was killed on Sept. 28 after a car chase and hours-long standoff with police at a construction area on Santa Ana Boulevard in Santa Ana. Lopez was allegedly driving a stolen car and was wanted for armed robberies. Hernandez has said that like Garcia, Lopez was suffering from a mental health crisis and Anaheim police unnecessarily escalated the situation. Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento criticized police for acting like “a firing squad” in Lopez’s shooting.
A week after the killing, the Santa Ana City Council unanimously approved a contract with homeless service provider CityNet to provide street outreach and care to homeless people, particularly those suffering with mental illness. The pilot program will steer these calls for service away from the police department.
Many Orange County cities have been adopting similar programs in order to free up police and decrease violent confrontations between law enforcement and people with mental health issues.
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