Modesto will pay $7.5M to settle lawsuit in fatal police shooting of unarmed Trevor Seever
Modesto will pay $7.5 million to settle the federal lawsuit filed against it in the December 2020 fatal shooting by a police officer of an unarmed man who was running away from him.
City Attorney Jose Sanchez announced at the start of Tuesday’s City Council meeting that council members had unanimously approved paying $7.5 million to end the litigation. The approval came in closed session before the start of the meeting.
Officer Joseph Lamantia fired seven rounds at Trevor Seever, 29, on the grounds of the Church of the Brethren in west Modesto on the morning of Dec. 29, 2020. Three bullets struck Seever, including one in his back.
Seever family members have said they were concerned about Trevor Seever’s mental state that day when one of them called 911. Seever had texted them that he had purchased a gun and called his mother to tell her that he was coming to the house and they needed to leave and call 911. Seever was not armed.
He lived with his mother, stepfather and sister but was not at home when he contacted them.
Lamantia was fired from his job and charged with voluntary manslaughter in March 2021 in Seever’s death. His preliminary hearing, in which a judge will determine whether he should stand trial, is ongoing.
He was the first officer on the scene and fired upon Seever before backup arrived.
Seever’s mother, Darlene Ruiz, said in a phone interview Tuesday evening that the settlement can do some good. “It’s hard to put a number on Trevor’s life,” Ruiz said as she started to cry.
Ruiz and her former husband, David Seever, each filed lawsuits against Modesto in fall 2021. The lawsuits eventually were consolidated. Ruiz said the settlement will be divided between her and her former husband. She said the amounts have not been determined.
Since Seever’s death, Darlene Ruiz, her husband, Ray, and other family members have advocated for police reform and supported others whose loved ones have been injured or died at the hands of law enforcement.
The family established the nonprofit Justice for Trevor Foundation to further those goals. The nonprofit is registered with the California Secretary of State.
Ruiz said the foundation also will help get high school and college sports officials certified in honor of her son. Trevor Seever officiated high school football, basketball and baseball games.
She said Tuesday evening that the settlement will fund starting an annual Trevor Seever clinic in Modesto with the Northern California Officials Association to help train officials.
Ruiz said she and her family also will sponsor new officials as they complete the process of becoming certified.
Ruiz said Trevor and his brother and sister played Little League in Salida. She had preliminary talks last year with Salida Little League officials about building a Trevor Seever Field in Salida for its players, she said.
Ruiz said she and her family will continue to participate in Modesto’s own police reform efforts, which are called Forward Together. Modesto is in the process of forming a nine-member Community Police Review Board and hiring an independent police auditor.
Now that her litigation has been resolved, Ruiz said she hopes to serve on the review board one day. She and her family are keen on reforms involving better police responses to people undergoing mental health and other crises.
“After settlement papers are prepared and signed, the City will be paying $7.5 million in exchange for a dismissal of plaintiffs’ federal civil-rights lawsuit ...,” according to a statement from Modesto attorney Robert Fores, who is one of Darlene Ruiz’s attorneys.
“The settlement was reached after extensive negotiations through a settlement conference with United States Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler and has been approved by all necessary parties,” according to the settlement.
How much of the $7.5 million Modesto will pay and how much its insurance will pay, as well as how much the city spent in legal and other costs defending itself, were not immediately available Tuesday evening.
This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 7:06 PM.
