CARMEL — Nine months after the officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of her son, Carmel’s Ellen Barrett filed a civil complaint on July 11 against the City of Carmel and a handful of police officers who were involved in the shooting.
Filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, Barrett claims officers used excessive force during an altercation with her son, James Marshall, 27.
On Oct. 25, Barrett called the police to assist her son during a mental health crisis episode. Carmel police officers had previously been to Barrett’s home in response to a similar episode and were made aware of Marshall’s bipolar disorder. A crisis intervention team didn’t respond to the Oct. 25 call, although the team had previously been effective in de-escalating a situation with Marshall, according to the lawsuit.
The Carmel Police Department also received calls that morning reporting a man, who was later identified as Marshall, was roaming the streets of Carmel brandishing what appeared to be a rifle and other weapons including a crowbar. The rifle turned out to be a BB rifle.
Carmel Police Chief Paul Tomasi, Sergeant Gerald Maldonado and Officer Rene Guevara arrived at Barrett’s home shortly after 10 a.m. and saw Marshall in front of the residence moving to the driveway. Maldonado fired a beanbag round at Marshall, who then dropped the BB rifle and moved to the backyard.
As more bean bag rounds were fired, Marshall turned his body and lifted his leg to protect himself. After Marshall lunged at one of the officers, several lethal shots were fired. Barrett heard her son scream for help, according to the lawsuit.
Guevara fired five lethal shots from his service pistol. After Marshall was “mortally wounded,” officers continued to use force, firing more beanbag rounds and tasering Marshall. A news release from October stated officers continued to attempt to subdue Marshall because he was advancing toward the officers after being wounded. The lawsuit alleges Marshall “was not running toward any officers, was mentally ill, and was some distance from the Defendants, who had time, space and opportunity for cover.”
“We believe the use of deadly force was in violation of (Marshall’s) Constitutional rights and that the officers’ poor tactics and training played a part in this unjustifiable use of deadly force,” said Barrett’s lawyer, Dale K. Galipo, in a news release. “Police departments must take action to improve officer training. It is our hope that we will be able to provide Ms. Barrett with justice for her son, closure and to help this family heal. Our hearts grieve for this mother’s loss of her son.”
Barrett filed a claim for damages with the City of Carmel on April 1 and her request was denied July 2, according to the lawsuit. She is now seeking compensatory and punitive damages that arose out of “the violation of both federal and state law including the use of excessive and unreasonable force” against her son, reads the lawsuit. The lawsuit demands a jury trial.
Tomasi, Maldonado and Guevara are named as defendants in the suit, along with 10 yet to be named individuals – six police officers and three supervisory officers for the Carmel Police Department. The complaint will be amended to show the names of the accused once they are made known to Galipo’s legal team.
The lawsuit claims Marshall’s medical care was delayed/denied by having him transported to Natividad Medical Center, which was nearly 40 minutes away, instead of taking him to the closest hospital. Marshall later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
The suit also alleges Marshall was not committing a serious or violent crime, the officers escalated the situation, used excessive force and failed to give adequate commands or a verbal warning prior to the use of force.
The city’s officer training is also being called into question by Barrett’s lawsuit. The district attorney’s office cleared Guevara and Maldonado of any criminal wrongdoing, but its investigation was focused on criminal wrongdoing, not the efficiency of their training.
“The training policies … were not adequate to train its officers to handle the usual and recurring situations with which they must deal,” and the actions taken by the named defendants “violated basic police officer training and standard law enforcement training,” alleges the lawsuit.
The Carmel Police Department referred calls for comment to the law firm, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, which represents the city. A message to the firm was not immediately returned.