He was picking up his brother at school. Now his family is suing in a fatal police encounter.

Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
·7 min read
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The family of an unarmed Colorado man who was fatally shot by police in a middle school pickup line filed a federal civil rights wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday alleging excessive force.

Richard Ward, 32, was fatally shot by a Pueblo County sheriff's deputy on Feb. 22, 2022. He was waiting to pick up his younger brother from school when the deputy dragged him from the vehicle, a struggle ensued and the deputy shot Ward three times in the chest, according to the complaint.

The two deputies involved later told investigators they feared for their lives, and the district attorney's office determined their actions were justified.

"Pueblo County refuses to hold Richard’s killers accountable, and the County has ignored repeated requests to remedy this tragic and egregious situation," said Darold Killmer, an attorney for the family. "So we will turn to a jury to obtain the justice that Richard and his family deserves."

Ward's mother, Kristy Ward Stamp, said her heart is "broken" by the loss. "I have no words to explain this to Richard’s little brother. Our family has been ripped apart," she said in a statement Tuesday.

What happened to Richard Ward?

Ward was with his mother and her boyfriend in her white SUV waiting to pick up his younger brother in a line of cars parked at Liberty Point International Middle School in Pueblo West, Colorado.

While waiting for school to get out, Ward stepped out of the car for a "brief walk," the complaint said. He returned a few minutes later and accidentally got back into the wrong white SUV. He "quickly" realized his mistake, apologized to the surprised driver and got back into his mother's white SUV, the complaint said.

A photo of Richard Ward and an urn with his ashes can be seen on a table.
A photo of Richard Ward and an urn with his ashes can be seen on a table.

Minutes later, Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputies Charles McWhorter and Cassandra Gonzales were dispatched to the school on reports of a "suspicious" man who may be "on something" and was "trying to open doors," according to an overview of the incident from the district attorney's office.

McWhorter arrived first and began questioning Ward as he sat in the back of the SUV. "I'm a little nervous 'cause I don't like cops," Ward can be heard saying in the bodycam video. "I have anxiety – they've done things to me." Asked why he feels that way, Ward says officers say things like "stop resisting" when people are "not resisting."

Ward "cooperatively and politely" answered questions for several minutes and told McWhorter he had "mistaken" another vehicle for his mother’s SUV, the complaint said. When McWhorter asked for Ward's identification, Ward began to search through his pockets and pulled out a couple of lighters.

McWhorter asked if Ward had any weapons, and Ward said he didn’t think so but that he might have a pocketknife, the bodycam video shows. McWhorter told Ward not to pull the pocketknife out if he did have it. Ward did not have a pocketknife on him, the complaint said.

Ward located a "prescribed anti-anxiety tablet" in his pocket and put it in his mouth, the complaint said. McWhorter "aggressively demanded" to know what Ward had placed in his mouth and "suddenly grabbed" Ward and dragged him from the SUV, the complaint said.

McWhorter and Gonzales threw Ward "violently to the ground, recklessly and deliberately initiating a wholly unnecessary and purposeless physical use of force against and struggle," the complaint said.

"It was a pill. It was a pill. Let me go," Ward can be heard saying in the bodycam video, which becomes blurred as the bodycam falls to the ground. "Stop resisting, bro," McWhorter can be heard saying. Gonzales's bodycam video appears to show both officers wrestling with Ward on the ground.

A photo shows Richard Ward in his high school football uniform.
A photo shows Richard Ward in his high school football uniform.

Ward did not "meaningfully" resist and offered a "paltry attempt at self-defense" as he was "trapped in the grips of two armed police officers," the complaint said. McWhorter did not issue any warning to Ward that he would use deadly force, the complaint said.

"Within only a few seconds of pulling Richard – who was unarmed – from the car onto the ground underneath the hands-on force being applied by both deputies, Deputy

McWhorter shot Richard three times with his service firearm, point blank, in the chest," the complaint said.

What happened after the shooting?

Ward's mother and her boyfriend can be heard screaming after the shooting. "What happened?" Ward's mother shouts. "Oh my god, no, no." She later asks: "Can you guys do CPR?"

Ward "survived for some time" after McWhorter shot him, "writhing in pain and shock," but neither deputy provided first aid or took a pulse, the complaint said.

"Instead, they stood and watched him bleed out as middle school students strolled by a few feet away," according to a statement from the family's attorneys.

Emergency medical personnel arrived and attempted to render aid to Ward nearly three minutes after the shooting, the complaint said. Ward was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officers then falsely arrested Ward's mother and her boyfriend, seized their property and interrogated them, the complaint said.

Gonzales had an injury to her right knee, and McWhorter had an injury to his nose, finger, lower back, right knee and neck, according to the district attorney's office.

What did the deputies say?

Three days after the incident, Gonzalez told investigators Ward was "putting up a fight," "not complying with verbal orders" and grabbed at McWhorter’s gun belt, according to the district attorney’s office. She said she thought Ward was going to hurt her or McWhorter.

McWhorter, who was interviewed more than a week after the incident, told investigators Ward had reached into his jacket "as if he was carrying a weapon." He said he pulled Ward out of the car "to handcuff him and to check for weapons." In the struggle, he said he felt Ward "messing with his gun side" and was afraid Ward would get his gun, knock him out or paralyze him.

Both deputies told investigators they did not render aid after the shooting because they believed the people in the car posed a threat, according to the district attorney’s office.

Was there an investigation?

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Pueblo Police Department and 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office investigated the incident.

District Attorney Jeff Chostner reviewed the findings and determined the deputies' actions were reasonable and "justified" because they believed their lives or the lives of others were in jeopardy.

Pueblo County did not terminate or discipline McWhorter or Gonzales, and the sheriff's office did not offer any additional training, the complaint said. McWhorter was back working within days of the shooting, according to the complaint.

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday. Chostner 's office could not immediately be reached for comment.

What does the family say?

Ward's family says he was unarmed and presented no danger to McWhorter, his partner, or anyone else.

"The killing of an unarmed man, in broad daylight right in front of his mother, is yet another senseless killing by aggressive law enforcement officers poorly trained to handle even the most routine police tasks without resorting to dangerous and even deadly weapons," Killmer said.

Eddy Stamp, Ward's brother, said his family is "devastated" and "will not rest until justice is achieved."

Asked about the deputies' claims that Ward was a danger, family attorney Mari Newman said the deputies were "simply making things up." She added: "The video doesn't show him doing anything except for being yanked out of the car and thrown to the ground."

Newman also noted the misleading statements made by law enforcement in the wake of the shooting. On the day of the incident, Pueblo County Sherriff David Lucero told local KKTV that Ward "jumped out of the vehicle." Bodycam video shows he was pulled out.

The larger context

The lawsuit comes months after another high-profile police killing in Colorado. Last summer, Clear Creek County deputies fatally shot a man who called for roadside assistance. A grand jury indicted two officers in the case late last year.

Nationwide, police fatally shoot more than 1,000 people every year, including a disproportionate number of Black people, according to the Washington Post database.

Dig deeper

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado police shooting: Richard Ward family sues for wrongful death