Family of 15-year-old with autism fatally shot by deputies files claim against San Bernardino County

The family of Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old boy with autism who was shot and killed by San Bernardino County sheriff‘s deputies outside his Apple Valley home this month, has filed a wrongful death claim against the county, attorneys announced during a news conference on Thursday.

The claim, which signals that the family plans to sue the county, says legal action could focus on allegations of assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“Under no circumstances should a 15-year-old autistic boy with a gardening hoe be shot and killed without taking the time to calm the boy down before using deadly force,” John Burris, a civil rights attorney who is among those representing the family, said in a prepared statement. “The police conduct was unreasonable.”

A poster-size photo of slain Ryan Gainer stands at the spot where he was killed. Gainer, a 15-year old with autism, was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies outside his Apple Valley home earlier this month.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

About 40 family, friends and community members stood in front of the family’s Apple Valley home during Thursday’s news conference. Most were dressed in mourning black while some held signs in tribute to the teen.

One such sign, which quoted Ryan, read, “Make sure you have a great day, be the spark, and make sure to spread kindness.”

Family, activists and observers displayed a five-foot-long hula hoe, a type of gardening tool that has a metal D-shaped fixture on the end for digging into dirt, that Gainer held when he was shot. Police alleged the garden tool had “a sharp bladed end.” Several people on Thursday showed that the worn and dull instrument had no sharp edge.

Ryan‘s death has heightened concerns from activists about law enforcement’s use of force against people with autism and those who suffer from mental health issues.

“He was a super intelligent, kind, generous, respectable, thoughtful, funny, goofy, charismatic person, who always saw the good in people,” his family wrote on a GoFundMe page dedicated to collecting funds for funeral expenses.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff‘s Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Rebecca Gainer, sister of slain Ryan Gainer, comforts her wheelchair-using mother, Sharon Hayward, during a news conference.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Deputies responded to the Gainer family’s home on March 9 after Ryan had become upset that his parents had demanded he complete his household chores before he would be allowed to play video games or listen to music on his computer. A family member called 911 for help, asking dispatch to send deputies to “take him in” because he was breaking glass and had hit his sister, according to a portion of the call released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Ryan seemed to be calming down and had apologized to his family, so Ryan’s cousin called 911 for a second time to advise them they no longer needed help. But deputies were already en route, according to the claim.

Body camera footage shows the first deputy announcing himself at the front door, saying “where’s he at?” The announcement startled Ryan, who began striding toward the door holding a hula hoe, the claim states.

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The deputy yelled, “Hey, get back, you’re going to get shot” as Ryan approached him. Footage from a second deputy’s body camera at another angle showed the first deputy pointing his gun and shooting at Ryan as he ran from the teen. The second deputy, who had just arrived at the home, had his weapon drawn and also opened fire, the footage shows. The deputies fired a total of three rounds, according to the department.

Deputies had been out to the home five other times this year and the family’s attorneys argue they should have been familiar with Ryan. It is not clear how much information deputies had when they arrived at the home, but Ryan had been taken to a mental health facility several times during law enforcement’s previous visits to the home, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a news conference last week.

Dicus defended the deputies’ actions during the news conference, saying they were forced into making a split-second decision and followed their training protocols.