According to his attorneys, Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old autistic boy, has filed a wrongful death claim against San Bernardino County.
IN SHORT
Family Files Wrongful Death Claim Against Sheriff’s Deputies
• Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old autistic boy, was fatally shot by California sheriff’s deputies.
• The family has filed a wrongful death claim against San Bernardino County.
• The claim includes allegations of assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
• The claim, a predecessor to a lawsuit, seeks unspecified damages.
• The family alleges that the police used deadly force without calming the boy down.
His family’s lawyers named Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old autistic boy, in a wrongful death lawsuit against San Bernardino County on Thursday.
A claim is the first step before a case. It includes accusations against sheriff’s employees of assault, false imprisonment, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. There was a news conference where the family asked questions about how the cops handled the situation and talked about their grief over the death.
According to state law, county officials have 30 days to respond to the claim, which requested unspecified damages. Lawyer John Burris asserted that one should never shoot and kill a 15-year-old autistic boy without first calming him down.
On March 9, the Gainer family experienced a disturbance at their home due to a dispute over whether Gainer could listen to music and play video games before doing his chores. Deputies reported that Gainer was assaulting family members and had smashed a window, but later, Gainer’s cousin called back to assure authorities that the situation was under control. Around 4:50 p.m. local time, two deputies shot and killed Gainer as he charged toward one of them with a bladed gardening tool raised above his head.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus has defended the actions of the deputies as legal but also said the shooting was a “tragedy” for everyone involved. He criticized the weak social network that failed to meet the needs of people with mental health challenges and called for better preparation to deal with Gainer.
Prior to the shooting, the sheriff’s department had responded to the family home five times, each time resulting in the removal of Gainer for mental health treatment, and none of these incidents involved violence. Attorney DeWitt Lacy said the deputies should have been better prepared to deal with Gainer, as he was a 15-year-old autistic teen having a bad day.
Gainer was active in the community, tutoring kids after school, participating in robotics programs, and participating in community clean-ups. His family is grieving the loss of his bright future.