Family of man fatally shot by Modesto police officer plans to file wrongful death claim
The family of a man fatally shot by a police officer who was dismissed and charged this week will file a wrongful death claim against Modesto, an attorney said Friday.
Modesto announced Thursday that police officer Joseph Lamantia was fired from his job and faces a criminal charge in his December fatal shooting of Trevor Seever, an unarmed 29-year-old whose family had called 911 seeking help.
“The actions of Officer Joseph Lamantia on December 29, 2020, did not meet the high standards our community, our department and I demand of our officers,” interim police Chief Brandon Gillespie said in a news release. “The death of Trevor Seever is a tragedy for his family, friends, and our community.
“The men and women of the Modesto Police Department work hard every day to build and maintain positive relationships. I understand Officer Lamantia’s actions have set us back. Our department is dedicated to serving the public and committed to rebuilding any trust we have lost.”
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s office charged Lamantia on Thursday with voluntary manslaughter and he appeared in court in the afternoon. He pleaded not guilty. His bail was set at $100,000 and he was taken into custody.
He was no longer listed in custody as of late Thursday afternoon, according to the county’s jail website. Lamantia is facing three, six or 11 years in prison if convicted, according to the district attorney’s office. His next court date is June 17.
Modesto attorney Bob Fores represents Seever’s family and he issued a news release Friday on behalf of the family.
“The days and months since December 29 have been extremely painful for the family,” it states. “... While the family is grateful that Officer Lamantia is being criminally prosecuted, the family nonetheless feels that Officer Lamantia should face the more serious charge of murder ... .
“It is a difficult time for a family who supports law enforcement but who lost a son and brother due to an unjustified and avoidable fatal shooting. The family recognizes and appreciates the role that law enforcement plays in protecting our community, but the unfortunate circumstances leading to Trevor’s wrongful death highlight the serious need for reform and accountability.”
Fores said in a phone interview that the family plans on filing a wrongful death claim against Modesto within a month.
Chief cannot recall another termination
Gillespie has been with the Modesto Police Department for nearly 20 years and, when asked, said he could not recall another officer who lost his job or was criminally charged in an officer-involved shooting during his time with the department.
Lamantia, 35, had been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. The Police Department could not fire him while it conducted its investigation and he pursued his due process rights, including his right to a hearing, which was held Monday.
He is represented by the Goyette & Associates law firm. “We strongly believe this was a perfectly justifiable officer involved shooting,” Paul Goyette, the firm’s founder, said in a phone interview.
Goyette said Lamantia acted appropriately based on his Police Department training, the information he was given at the time about Seever and the potential threat Seever posed to others.
While Seever’s family had called 911 on Dec. 29 to report that he said he had bought a gun the night before and that he had made vague threats against his family, Seever was not armed. The family also has disputed how police have characterized Seever and the danger he posed.
And a national use of force expert who reviewed Lamantia’s body camera footage said he found the officer’s actions troubling.
“He should be alert to the (report of the) gun, but the first move should not be to shoot the man, which is what it appears to be,” said Phil Stinson, a professor and criminologist at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University and a former police officer, in a Bee story published in January. Stinson said it was difficult to determine from the footage, but it appears Seever was trying to get away.
Officer had other options
Stinson said the officer had other options, including following Seever at a safe distance and telling other officers where the man was heading. He said Lamantia appeared to be 40 to 50 yards from Seever when he opened fire.
Lamantia fired seven shots at Seever on the grounds of Church of the Brethren in west Modesto. The two appear to be alone, based on Lamantia’s body camera footage.
“It’s very difficult to say with one video, but it does not appear the officer faced an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or deadly force,” Stinson said.
The decision to fire Lamantia comes after the Police Department completed an investigation of the shooting. The department’s Use of Force Review Board determined Lamantia’s conduct and use of deadly force violated department policy, procedures and training and recommended his employment be terminated, according to the news release.
Gillespie upheld that recommendation and fired Lamantia on Thursday morning. Lamantia had been a Modesto officer since 2008, and this was his first job in law enforcement. He had been involved in three other fatal officer involved shootings since 2010. Those shootings were determined to be justified and within department policy.
Gillespie declined to say how Lamantia’s conduct and use of force violated department policy, procedures and training. He said the district attorney’s office has asked that information not be revealed in order to protect the criminal case while it is pending.
Charges in two other officer shootings
District attorney’s office spokesman John Goold could recall only two other times in which Stanislaus County prosecutors filed charges against officers involved in shootings. Both were fatal and occurred when the officers were off duty.
Prosecutors charged off-duty federal officer Robert Anthony Moreno in a 2012 fatal shooting outside a Modesto bar. Moreno pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. And prosecutors charged Kari Abbey in a 2010 fatal shooting when she was off duty as a Stanislaus County sheriff’s detective. A judge dismissed the murder charge against Abbey, determining she had fired her gun in self-defense. The case was resolved with Abbey pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges.
A law that began in January 2020 restricts lethal force by an officer to when it is “necessary in defense of human life” as perceived by a “reasonable” officer and based on the “totality of circumstances.” It also emphasizes deescalation as an effective alternative to lethal force.
For more then a century before that police officers could use deadly force based more simply on a “reasonable belief” that an officer or another person is in imminent danger.
DA won’t comment on new standard
Goold said the district attorney’s office would not comment on how the new law affected prosecutors’ decision to charge Lamantia.
“I’m afraid that any comments regarding our decision-making process would require us to be making statements about the facts of the case,” Goold said in an email. “... We are reserving our statements on facts for the courtroom.”
Seever’s mother, Darlene Ruiz, said she and Seever’s brother Kyle and sister Allison could not comment because they expect to be called as witnesses in Lamantia’s case.
The city’s news release states District Attorney Birgit Fladager, Gillespie and Mayor Sue Zwahlen met with Seever’s family before Thursday’s announcement. “We mourn alongside the Seever family and now begin the process of healing our community,” Zwahlen said in the release.
Seever’s family and others also have called for a civilian oversight panel for the Police Department. The news release states Zwahlen has called for an “engagement process to consider the community’s interest in (the) Modesto Police Department’s policies and practices.”
The release states that process includes forming a committee, holding “an initial listening session to hear from the community to outline areas of concern” and that the committee would offer recommendations to the City Council within six to 12 months.
Family supports reviewing police practices
In his news release. Fores, the attorney representing the Seever family, stated: “The family looks forward to the implementation of newly elected Modesto City Mayor Sue Zwahlen’s plans to engage the community in order to improve MPD policies and practices.
“(Thursday’s) actions won’t bring Trevor back. However, they should help family members and the Modesto community begin the important first steps toward improving relations between our Police Department and our community, holding the City and law enforcement accountable for their actions, and making Modesto a better place to live. Justice for Trevor!”
Among the other shootings Lamantia had been involved in:
- In a 2010 incident, a 45-year-old man was shot and killed after officers, including Lamantia, were called to the scene after it was reported Francisco Moran, was intoxicated, belligerent and armed with a knife. He was armed with a metal spatula.
- In 2016, Lamantia was one of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of a suspect during a drug bust in Turlock. The suspect, Omar Villagomez, rammed an undercover vehicle in trying to escape, police said.
- In another 2016 fatal shooting, a woman, Kim Jackson, who police say charged police with knives, was shot and killed by officers, including Lamantia.
- Lamantia also had a part in a nonfatal officer-involved shooting in October when officers opened fire on an armed homicide suspect in Stockton. The suspect, David Cummings Jr., 27, was wanted in a double homicide near downtown Modesto a few days earlier.
Lamantia also has been recognized for his service. He was among the two sergeants and eight officers who were honored at a 2014 City Council meeting for rescuing a women from her home during an armed standoff with her boyfriend.
The Bee also reported that year how Lamantia helped out a Modesto woman by paying nearly $500 to replace a window in the woman’s car that had been shattered by thieves.
Bee reporter Lydia Gerike contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
