OAKLAND, Calif., May 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Civil rights law firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the Garcia family against Napa County and Napa County Sheriff’s Sergeant on behalf of its client, the Garcia family David Ackman. The lawsuit arises from the unprovoked, videotaped death of Juan Garcia, an unarmed, non-threatening 47-year-old father of three, on October 5, 2020 by Sergeant Ackman.
One of Mr. Garcia’s attorneys, Michael Haddad stated: “This unprovoked killing of one An unarmed, non-threatening man followed by a lack of transparency is a terrible violation of Mr. The constitutional rights of Garcia and his family. “
Another of the Garcia family lawyers, Julia Sherwin stated: Sergeant Ackman overreacted and handled this situation wrong from the start. He jumped out of his car and immediately pointed his gun on Juan, who was no threat. Juan was clearly confused about what the sergeant wanted of him, given the sergeant’s utter failure to communicate with him. Then the sergeant discharged six bullets in quick succession on Juan without warning. The sergeant appears to be panicked, and in his panic he stole this devoted father, son and husband from a family and Community that loved him. “
Juan Garcia lived in Napa County for more than 25 years and resided in the city of Napa with partner / wife Eva Lopez and their three sons. Mr. Garcia was a hardworking, loving, and devoted family man and father.
On October 5, 2020, Mr. Garcia returned home from visiting friends evacuated from the Napa County fires and staying at a local resort. He got lost on the way home. At around 10:11 p.m. Sergeant Ackman Juan Garcia’s vehicle drove by, allegedly because it had driven without headlights. Within 38 seconds of Mr. Garcia getting out of his vehicle, Sergeant Ackman shot Mr. Garcia six times, killing Mr. Garcia even though he was unarmed and not threatening.
The sheriff’s department viewed clips of bodycam footage on October 14, 2020. The video shows Sergeant Ackman stepping out of his vehicle with his gun drawn and immediately aimed it at Mr. Garcia, a very high level of violence that can be used against a non-threatening man suspected of a simple vehicle violation. Mr. Garcia got out of his vehicle empty-handed, which Sergeant Ackman could clearly see as Mr. Garcia and his vehicle were well lit by the headlights of Sergeant Ackman’s patrol car.
Sergeant Ackman, in breach of his duties, chose to use unlawful lethal force against Mr. Garcia to ensure that any use of lethal force was both necessary and in response to an imminent threat of death or serious injury. Ackman also failed to give Mr. Garcia a statutory warning before practically using lethal force to ensure his death. Ackman also failed to assess the necessity of each shot before shooting, and appeared to fire six unnecessary shots in a panic. Sergeant Ackman also chose not to use his vehicle as cover if he felt threatened by Mr. Garcia, nor to order Mr. Garcia to show his hands or get on the ground, even less deadly alternatives to deadly force use. This tragic use of lethal force was completely unjustified.
On October 6, the day after Sergeant Ackman shot Mr. Garcia, several Napa County agents and agents interrogated Eva Lopez and Mr. Garcia’s mother. It was only after the interrogation that it became known that Mr. Garcia was and was detained in the hospital, and no details were disclosed of Mr. Garcia’s injuries or the shooting incident. At the hospital, a doctor informed Ms. Lopez that Mr. Garcia had been shot multiple times and had stopped responding when he arrived. Mr Garcia had an operation but was pronounced brain dead and a doctor advised Ms. Lopez to remove the life support as the hospital had done everything to save Mr Garcia.
The Napa County Sheriff’s MPs were guarding Mr. Garcia’s body in the hospital and forbidding Ms. Lopez and other family members to take any final pictures of Mr. Garcia or even use their cell phones in Mr. Garcia’s hospital room. The sheriff’s office prohibited the family from having more than one person with Mr. Garcia when he passed, so his parents could only see him for about 20 minutes before Ms. Lopez would be the only family member with Mr. Garcia as there he passed by. He was pronounced dead on October 6 at 8:35 p.m.
Sergeant Ackman used excessive and unjustified force against the unarmed and non-threatening Mr. Garcia. Sheriff Robertson failed to train, monitor and supervise Sergeant Ackman, which allowed him to use excessive and unconstitutional force. Sheriff Robertson declined the family’s requests for information regarding the incident, such as: B. the dash cam and surveillance video, claiming this was not relevant. Sheriff Robertson also directed others to refuse to provide information to the Lopez family, stated his intention to postpone the investigation until the Lopez Family Government Code offense claim was due, and continued the code of silence with law enforcement.
Juan Garcia’s family is committed to getting justice for him in federal court.
ABOVE HADDAD & SHERWIN LLP.
Founded in 1998 by Michael Haddad and Julia Sherwin, Haddad & Sherwin LLP is an Oakland law firm serving people with serious injuries and death. Please visit https://haddadandsherwin.com/ for more information.
Contact:
Michael Haddad or Julia Sherwin
(Office) (510) 452-5500
(Haddad cell) (510) 484-8208 or (Sherwin cell) (510) 484-6051
[email protected]
Tim Johnson
UPRAISE Marketing + PR for Haddad & Sherwin LLP (cell) (415) 385-9537
[email protected]
family Statement, Video, and photos
The incident video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ecLBtcQiU
A copy of the federal litigation lawsuit, the government code tort law suit previously filed, a statement by Garcia family members, and some photos of Garcia family members can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/buw24vkphv6douc/AABpMrLllI0QTdapgYhKqjDqa ? dl = 0
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