The family of a Colorado man who was shot and killed by deputies as he waited in line to pick up his little brother from school last year has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 21, the day before the anniversary of 32-year-old Richard Ward’s death. Ward died after being shot by a Pueblo County sheriff’s deputy after being dragged from his mother’s SUV at Liberty Point International Middle School in Pueblo West. He was shot three times in the chest.
“Richard Ward’s death is a profound injustice — an unarmed, cooperative citizen shot and killed in front of his mother by a Pueblo County sheriff’s deputy,” said Darold Killmer, the Ward family’s attorney. “This was nothing short of state-sanctioned murder of a citizen who should not have been even arrested, let alone killed in broad daylight.”
The account given by the sheriff’s department of the events leading up to Ward’s death differs from bodycam footage and Ward’s family.
Ward’s family said he was waiting for his brother to finish school in the back of his mother’s white SUV. He was with his mom and her boyfriend and took a “brief walk” before returning to the SUV. According to the lawsuit, Ward got into the wrong white SUV upon his return and quickly apologized once realizing he was in the wrong vehicle and returning to his mother’s SUV.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office claimed that a witness notified school administrators that Ward was banging on car doors outside of the school and appeared to be on drugs. They also claimed the school principal confronted Ward and told him to wait in his vehicle. The sheriff’s office also claimed that when they arrived, Ward “jumped out of the vehicle” and head-butted one deputy, breaking his nose.
Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputies Charles McWhorter and Cassandra Gonzales responded to a call from the school. McWhorter was the first on the scene and questioned Ward…
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