While a civilian locksmith had been called in to drill open a door, the criminal behind the door would not give way that easily. According to the Courthouse News Service the man barricaded behind the door was known by officers to be deranged and armed, before he shot the locksmith to death.
I.E., the widow of G.E., has filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming Stanislaus County, three of its police officers and the sheriff as defendants. She claims that the sheriff instructed her husband to assist in forcibly evicting J.F. from his apartment.
J.F. had been "subject to foreclosure proceedings since January 2012" prior to the April 2012 shooting.
The owner of the apartment building is also named in the lawsuit.
According to the suit, "On April 12, 2012, the Stanislaus Sheriffs' Office sent a young civilian locksmith, (G.E.), into a situation the sheriffs knew was dangerous and life-threatening. Mr. (E.) was hired to accompany two sheriffs deputies to assist in an eviction by drilling open the door lock of a residence inhabited by a man known to sheriffs as being mentally disordered, who possessed a cache of weapons, including high-powered automatic military-style rifles, and who had military training, with surveillance cameras mounted inside and outside the residence, who had threatened others in the past, and who was a clear and present danger to himself and anyone who approached him..."
The sheriff's officers had been warned that J.F. was dangerous and, according to the lawsuit, had reminded each other of the fact prior to the incident. However none of the officers issued any warnings to G.E.
The suit states that G.E. "was given absolutely no information about the danger awaiting him at the (J.F.) residence."
As G.E. worked on the apartment door's lock he overheard noises from the interior that led him to believe that the home was inhabited. He voiced his concerns to the deputies and was instructed to continue working.
Within "15 seconds" according to the suit, "(J.F.) fired several shots from inside the residence through the front security screen door with a high-powered fully automatic military-type rifle."
One deputy was hit in the head and died; G.E. attempted to get out of the way of the bullets, however, he was also struck down and killed.
A standoff, lasting several hours, ended when J.F. shot and killed himself.
A police report of the incident was cited in the suit as follows: "(J.F.) was considered armed and dangerous... His mental condition was unclear…Due to the above information, responding personnel were advised to use extreme caution. The rapidity with which this information was garnered and broadcast further demonstrates law enforcement's absolute knowledge of the extreme danger presented by (J.F.) prior to the eviction process."
It is never easy to loose a loved one. However, if you have lost a loved one due to the fault of another party, contact a personal injury lawyer to file a lawsuit.