Mediation is scheduled later this week in a $10 million federal civil rights lawsuit against Los Angeles County and 10 sheriff’s department employees in the deputy-involved shooting death of 16-year-old Anthony Weber in February his father told City News Service Sunday evening.
Joseph Weber also told CNS the coroner’s autopsy report was given to his lawyer Gregory Yates but his lawyer was not permitted to show the document to Anthony’s family.
“He told me what was in it and it confirms what I saw at the mortuary when I examined my son’s body,” Joseph Weber said. When I examined his entire body I found nine shots in the back, five graze wounds and two shots to his chest.”
Weber said he went over every inch of his son’s body and took photographs of all the wounds on his son’s body.
“I’ve had to do this investigation piecemeal on my own like taking these pictures of my son’s body,” Weber said.
Weber told CNS that the county filed a motion to stay the suit which was denied and there is a second motion pending. He also said the deputies were all interviewed on tape and those tapes were now in the hands of his lawyer who is sending them out to be transcribed. Mediation he added is currently scheduled for Friday.
Deputies shot and killed 16-year-old Anthony Weber on Feb. 4 during a foot chase about 8:20 p.m. near the 1200 block of 107th Street in the Westmont neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
Following the encounter, deputies said they spotted a handgun tucked into the teen’s pants, but investigators never recovered a weapon.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the boy was a known gang member who was shot at an apartment complex known for gang activity.
“Anthony Weber committed no crime,” said attorney Yates, who is representing Weber’s family in the suit filed in May in Los Angeles federal court, alleging negligence and wrongful death. “He was unarmed and posed no threat to anyone. These deputies acted as judge, jury and executioner when they fired multiple shots at an innocent kid.”
The 22-page complaint, which seeks at least $10 million in damages, does not name the 10 defendants, including four sheriff’s deputies who were at the scene of the shooting, two supervising officers and four managerial or policymaking employees of the department.
The sheriff’s department said in a statement shortly after the suit was filed that it was “frustrating” that it could not comment on the evidence while the case is pending.
“Justice is not achieved in seconds, minutes or hours but during months of a painstaking, detailed process of getting the facts right beyond a reasonable doubt,” the statement said. “Evidence is not opinion. This is what makes justice worth fighting for, and waiting for. We have watched as individuals hurl allegations or immediately assume that deputy-involved shootings and the aftermath are signs of police misconduct.”
The department said that “there is a growing body of evidence in this case that is undeniable, and yet, to protect the integrity of the investigation, to continue to maintain open channels of communication for more potential witnesses to come forward, we must stay silent.
“We too must wait for the months of evidence testing, re-testing and examination by numerous county professionals which is taking place under the oversight of L.A. County’s Office of Inspector General which has complete access to evidence and witness statements,” the statement said. “The day will come when the evidence will speak for us because, in the best system of justice in the world, it is the evidence that must matter the most.”
The lawsuit alleges that as the teenager bled profusely, deputies failed to call for medical help in a timely manner or render medical aid.
The plaintiffs allege that the boy was deprived of his right against unreasonable and excessive force as guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment. The family’s lawyers also contend the decedent suffered extreme mental and physical pain before losing his life.
“Anthony was a devoted, loving son and young father whose life was tragically cut short,” said co-lead counsel Dale K. Galipo. “We intend to prove that under the color of authority, the deputies engaged in excessive force and violated the young man’s constitutional rights.”
Deputies were called to the area because a young man was reportedly pointing a handgun at a motorist, sheriff’s Deputy Wally Bracks said. Arriving deputies saw the suspect had a handgun tucked into his waistband, Bracks said.
The suspect allegedly ran from deputies, who pursued him on foot. During the chase, the boy turned toward the deputies and one fired at him, striking him several times in the upper body, according to the sheriff’s department, which said no handgun was found.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the courtyard of the apartment complex where the boy was shot, and which investigators say is a known gang hangout, “was flooded with people who were trying to get to the subject and the deputies,” according to a sheriff’s statement released following the shooting.
About 30 to 40 residents of the area became irate and confronted deputies regarding the shooting, according to Deputy Sara Rodriguez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
“The deputies immediately requested medical assistance and additional personnel in an effort to calm the citizens and prevent them from reaching the subject,” she said. “While waiting for additional deputies and trying to control the situation, it is believed that someone may have been able to gain possession of the gun and take it.”
No video footage of the shooting and aftermath has been located.
According to the sheriff’s department, a witness reported hearing deputies say, “Don’t reach for it,” presumably referring to a gun, though the witness did not see one.