Family of man killed by Modesto police says it will ‘keep happening’ without accountability
The family of Trevor Seever wept softly as a Stanislaus Superior Court judge ruled that the former Modesto police officer who fatally shot him will not stand criminal trial.
Seever’s mother and stepfather, Darlene and Ray Ruiz, sat side-by-side in the gallery as Judge Carrie Stephens read a lengthy statement detailing the events leading to, during and after the shooting of the unarmed 29-year-old Modesto resident outside a west Modesto church on Dec. 29, 2020.
Former Modesto police officer Joseph Lamantia, who was fired by the department following the shooting, did not speak or react during the approximately 25-minute hearing. He previously was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the shooting of Seever, who was unarmed and whose family had called 911 that day to report he had bought a gun and was making threats.
Darlene Ruiz said the family was “very disappointed” and it was “difficult” to hear the judge’s ruling.
“Another police officer is justified for killing, and that just keeps happening,” she said outside the courthouse after the Friday morning hearing. “They are not held accountable. Even if they are fired and charged, they are not held accountable and that’s what’s wrong. It continues to happen.”
Ruiz also criticized the handling of the case by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, led by Deputy DA Rick Mury. During the reading of her decision, Stephens used some of the actions of Seever’s family that day, including calling 911 and leaving the house, to bolster her decision that Lamantia believed they were in “imminent harm.”
“I don’t think the DA put on a very strong case. Trevor asked us to call 911, we didn’t leave the house because we were in fear of our lives. We did because Trevor asked us to call 911,” she said. “It just painted a different picture. The DA hired a known expert who backs police brutality and they did nothing to hire another expert who would discount that. I don’t think they worked very hard to build a case because the DA and police officers are close.”
Mury commented after the judge’s decision that he was neither disappointed nor pleased with the decision. “The attorneys do their job and they put on evidence. Then the court does its job and gives its interpretation,” Mury said. “I do my job and the court does its job.”
Lamantia’s attorney, Fresno-based Roger Wilson, was pleased with the decision. Lamantia was fired from the Modesto Police Department in March 2021 for violating policy and procedure. He had been on paid administrative leave following the shooting.
Prior to the Seever shooting, the former officer was involved in five other shootings — three of them fatal — during his dozen years on the force.
“I think the judge followed the law and the decision was the right one in this case,” Wilson said.
Stephens’ decision ends the criminal case, and Seever’s family settled a lawsuit against the City of Modesto for $7.5 million in April. The family has said Seever was in a mental health crisis and did not pose a threat that day.
“We will continue to have justice for Trevor. We have a nonprofit and we will continue to honor Trevor and his memory. He was a referee (for high school sports) for 12 years and we are working with the NCOA (Northern California Officials Association) to do a clinic and it will be called the Trevor Seever Clinic. So we are going to continue to ... make sure everybody remembers Trevor,” Darlene Ruiz said.
