A mother has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after her son was shot and killed by Pueblo County deputies outside a middle school in February 2022.
The lawsuit states that Richard Ward, who was calm and compliant throughout an interaction with El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies, died on Feb. 22, 2022 after deputies pulled him out of parked car and shot him three times point blank. One deputy said he thought Ward was reaching for his firearm during a struggle.
Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said later that same day that Ward was possibly inebriated and was banging on the windows of parents' cars in the parking lot. School staff approached him before law enforcement arrived, then locked down the school, the sheriff's office said. "At this point, though he had no legitimate law enforcement purpose to draw or use a firearm, Defendant McWhorter recklessly unlocked his safety holster and pulled his pistol up and out of the holster’s locking mechanism," the lawsuit reads.
Deputy McWhorter said he saw Ward put something in his mouth and then watched as he"opens his jacket and reaches inside the jacket, as if he was carrying a weapon," according to a letter outlining the district attorney's decision to not charge the deputies.Once Ward was out of the car, Ward attempted to take the deputy's weapon, according to Sheriff Lucero.
After the deputies forced him face-first on the ground, they piled on top of him and about 20 seconds after pulling him from the car, Deputy McWhorter shot Ward in the chest three times, the lawsuit said. Around this time, Ward Stamp, in the front passenger seat, became frantic and begged to know if Ward had been shot and killed. The deputies did not answer her but ordered Ward Stamp and her boyfriend to stay in the car. They both complied.
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