Settlement reached in 2020 fatal shooting by Modesto police officer

A settlement has been reached in the federal lawsuit filed against Modesto in the December 2020 fatal shooting by a police officer of an unarmed man running away from him.

The shooting of Trevor Seever by Officer Joseph Lamantia on the grounds of the Church of the Brethren in west Modesto sparked protests and was a catalyst in the city’s police reform effort called Forward Together.

The shooting also resulted in a rare outcome for a Modesto officer.

Lamantia was terminated from his job and charged with voluntary manslaughter in March 2021. Police Chief Brandon Gillespie said at the time he could not recall another officer who lost his job or was charged in an officer-involved shooting during Gillespie’s then nearly 20 years with the department.

The settlement was reached March 13 and remains confidential until it has been approved by the governing authorities, which is expected to take about 30 days, according to court records. Those authorities in this case are the City Council and the city’s insurance, according to one of the attorneys representing Seever’s mother, Darlene Ruiz.

“This is very typical in cases involving a city or a county,” attorney John Burton said in a phone interview. “They have a governing body entitled to approve any settlement.”

Burton said an agreement was reached after a full day of negotiations among lawyers and others representing all of the parties. He said the attorneys and representatives of the city and its insurance will recommend they approve it. He is not sure whether Modesto has one or two insurance carriers involved in this litigation.

Burton said Darlene Ruiz, David Seever — Trevor’s father — and Lamantia were at the settlement conference, which was held over Zoom, and approved the agreement. Seever’s parents are divorced.

City Attorney Jose Sanchez said he cannot comment on pending litigation. But he said the process for when a contingent settlement has been reached is for the City Council to then consider whether to approve it. Sanchez said the city’s insurance carrier or carriers would need to approve a settlement if it reaches a certain threshold.

Seever family members have said they were concerned about Trevor Seever’s mental state on Dec. 29, 2020, 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.

But Lamantia believed he was and alternated between believing Seever was going to ambush him or was running away to shoot family members at the nearby church where they had gathered, according to testimony from the Stanislaus County Superior Court preliminary hearing being held in Lamantia’s criminal case.

The hearing is expected to resume in mid -pril. At its conclusion, the judge will rule whether he will stand trial.

Seven shots fired

Lamantia was the only officer on the scene when he fired upon Seever. Lamantia twice yelled, “Get on the ground,” as Seever was running away, according to the lawsuit filed against the city. About two seconds later, he fired four shots.

Lamantia ran closer to Seever, who was then on his knees facing the officer. Lamantia yelled, “Show me your hands” and “Put your hands up,” and within 20 seconds of firing his first shots, he fired three more times, according to the lawsuit. Lamantia’s body camera footage shows he fired after one of Seever’s hands dropped to the ground.

The lawsuit states Lamantia did not wait for backup. His first response was to fire upon Seever without trying to follow him at a safe distance, and he did not warn Seever that lethal force would be used, it says.

Police have said an officer safety bulletin regarding Seever was reissued at the time of the 911 call. Lamantia asked that the bulletin be emailed throughout the Police Department, according to testimony from his preliminary hearing.

The bulletin stated that Seever had recently posted threats — including “a good cop is a dead cop” — against officers on his Instagram account and that police had numerous contacts with Seever while he was under the influence of alcohol and was “violent, argumentative and uncooperative while drunk.”

Lamantia had been a Modesto officer since 2008, and this was his first job in law enforcement. He had been involved in three other fatal officer-involved shootings since 2010. Those shootings were determined to be justified and within department policy.

The City Council in June 2021 created Forward Together, a committee whose members represented civil rights, business and law enforcement, to come up with recommendations to improve policing and police-community relations. Modesto is in the process of creating a Community Police Review Board and hiring an independent police auditor, two of the key recommendations.

Family starts foundation

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 officials certified in honor of her son. Trevor Seever officiated high school football, basketball and baseball games.

The family will hold a Solidarity BBQ on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. at Graceada Park to support other families whose loved ones have the victims of police brutality. Lunch is $10 but free for the families who have been affected by police brutality.

Ruiz declined comment on the settlement while it remains confidential.