Parents sue Modesto in police officer’s fatal shooting of their unarmed son
The parents of Trevor Seever individually have filed wrongful death and excessive force lawsuits against Modesto in the December fatal shooting of their unarmed 29-year-old son by then-police officer Joseph Lamantia.
The lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno by lawyers representing the parents, Darlene Ruiz and David Seever. The two are divorced.
“The shooting and killing of Trevor Seever was brutal, malicious, and done without just provocation or cause,” states David Seever’s lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 14. He is represented by San Francisco attorney Steven A. Fabbro.
Darlene Ruiz and other family members have said Seever was undergoing a mental health crisis and the family called 911 to get him help.
Ruiz’s lawsuit was filed Oct. 22. She is represented by Modesto attorneys Robert Fores and Ronald La Force and Pasadena attorney John Burton. Both lawsuits seek unspecified financial damages and legal costs.
The lawsuits also name former Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll, who retired Dec. 25 after nearly eight years leading the department and several days before the fatal shooting, and Lamantia, who was fired from his job and charged with voluntary manslaughter in March.
Carroll declined to comment Friday. Lamantia did not respond Friday to a request for comment made through one of the attorneys representing him in his criminal case. Modesto Deputy City Manager Caluha Barnes said in a text that the city does not comment on pending litigation.
Mental health crisis
The shooting took place Dec. 29 on the grounds of the Church of the Brethren in west Modesto and near the Ruiz family home. According to the lawsuit, Seever lived there with his mother, sister Allison and stepfather, Ray Ruiz.
The lawsuit states that on that morning, Seever “inexplicably became manic and irrational. He left home and texted family members messages that made little sense. He was angry with his mother. Seever had no history of guns or violence but falsely texted that he purchased a firearm. He called his mother. He said, ‘I’m coming over, and you guys need to leave the house and call 911.’ ”
“Darlene, Ray and Allison were concerned about Trevor’s mental state,” the lawsuit states. “They were shaken and perplexed, but never in danger. They saw Trevor walking and gave the dispatcher his location and direction of travel. Their objective was to get help for Trevor.”
Several Modesto officers responded, including Lamantia. The lawsuit alleges, based on Lamantia’s body camera footage, the following then took place:
“Lamantia found Trevor sitting on steps on the grounds of a church smoking marijuana. Trevor fled across a lawn. Lamantia jumped out of his car and gave chase with his pistol drawn, although he was not being threatened and had seen no firearm. After rounding a corner that provided cover and concealment were Lamantia actually concerned that Trevor was armed and dangerous [sic], Lamantia stopped, stood out in the open and yelled at Trevor, who was still running away, to ‘Get down.’”
Officer gave no warning?
The narrative continues: “Without giving Trevor an opportunity to comply or a warning that he was about to shoot, Lamantia fired four shots from 170 feet, missing three while hitting Trevor once in the back. Trevor yelled in pain as he fell. The back wound was not lethal.
“Trevor got up to his knees and turned to face Lamantia, who closed the distance, stopping about 80 feet away. Trevor followed Lamantia’s orders to raise his hands. Lamantia should have repeated his order for Trevor to lie down because Lamantia knew he shot Trevor, and the gunshot wound was obviously making it difficult for Trevor to keep both hands raised.
“Trevor lowered his right hand, then raised it again when Lamantia yelled. The second time Trevor’s right hand came down, Lamantia fired three more rounds while yelling commands, missing once, lacerating his liver with a second bullet and perforating his heart with a third. Lamantia’s video shows that Trevor again raised both hands as the last three shots rang out. He had no weapon.”
A video report of the incident released by the Police Department about a week after the shooting includes then-interim Police Chief Brandon Gillespie stating Seever had recently posted threats against police officers on his Instagram account and police had issued an officer safety bulletin about Seever, which was reissued at the time of the 911 call.
The bulletin stated that police had numerous contacts with Seever while he was under the influence of alcohol and that he had been “violent, argumentative and uncooperative while drunk.” The video report includes part of a 911 call in which Allison Seever states her brother reported buying a gun the night before.
5 shootings in 12 years
But Seever’s family has said the video report presented a highly edited, incomplete and false account of what happened, and police demonized Seever.
Seever’s shooting was the fifth officer-involved shooting Lamantia had been involved in during his roughly dozen years as a Modesto police officer. Four were fatal.
The lawsuits allege the shootings formed a disturbing pattern. In his lawsuit, David Seever — Trevor’s father — alleges former Police Chief Carroll and Modesto “knew of Lamantia’s repeated use of excessive force. (And) that Defendants City and Carroll failed to properly discipline, re-train or otherwise remediate Lamantia regarding the reasonable use of force including lethal force prior to his killing of Trevor ... .”
The shooting of Seever sparked demonstrations and rallies, and Seever’s family and others have spoken at many City Council meetings calling for police reform, including hiring an independent auditor and forming a civilian review board to provide additional oversight of the police.
The Seevers and others also have called for the use of mental health professionals to respond to mental health calls that are now solely handled by officers.
Modesto has launched an initiative to look at potential reforms of its Police Department, called Forward Together. The effort has a committee with members from law enforcement and business and community groups, including the NAACP and the ACLU.
These lawsuits come after attorneys for Seever’s parents filed separate claims against the city, a step before filing a lawsuit.
Dec. 15 hearing in criminal case
The lawsuits have not been assigned to a district judge because of a backlog in cases due to two longstanding judicial vacancies in the federal courthouse in Fresno, according to court records. The court states, “Tt is hopeful that a new district judge will be appointed in the near future ... .”
Burton, one of Darlene Ruiz’s attorneys, said he and Ruiz’s other attorneys expect the pause on the lawsuits to be temporary because they expect more judges to be confirmed soon and at least one of the vacancies filled. Burton said he expects at some point the two lawsuits will be consolidated into one case.
The next date in Lamantia’s criminal case in Stanislaus County Superior Court is Dec. 15, and a date for his preliminary hearing should be set then, said attorney Roger Wilson with Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, the law firm that represents the former officer in his criminal case.
Preliminary hearings are held to determine whether there is enough evidence to hold a trial.
Wilson said this is a complicated criminal case with lots of video evidence. But based on the evidence and the totality of information Lamantia had at the time, Wilson said, his actions “were justified and lawful. And therefore what he did was within the confines of the law, and he will be acquitted.”
