The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) got a complaint soon after a robbery that three adolescent guys had broken into a property and tried to leave. Cops rushed on the scene and detained one 11-year-old child before pursuing another suspect, who was later identified as 16-year-old Anthony Garrett.
Garrett fled into his house and into the bathroom before the cops could apprehend him. Officials asked Garrett to drop his weapon and submit after discovering he had a pistol. However, the adolescent bolted into an adjacent bedroom and barricaded himself there. Garrett fired a single shot moments later, according to authorities.
Concerned about the safety of spectators and other cops, the department declared a standoff and ordered Garrett’s family members to leave the house. It took four hours for police officials to push their way into the room, assuming that the adolescent had locked himself inside. The gunfire they had heard earlier had been a self-inflicted injury to Garrett’s skull, they found.
Although officials assumed Garrett was dead, he was transferred to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he was discovered to be alive. He died only two days later, causing the coroner to determine that he committed suicide. This hasn’t prevented his family from blaming the cops for his untimely death.
Garrett’s mom, Taccara Brooks, has filed a civil rights complaint against the LVMPD, seeking $7 million in damages for “unlawful killing, carelessness, and improper supervision and training.” The claim blames the cops for Garrett’s murder and wants monetary compensation, including $2 million from an anonymous cop who enabled the wrongdoing to happen.
Brooks has retained civil rights attorney E. Brent Bryson, who has inquired as to how the shooting happened, implying that he and his clients do not consider it was self-inflicted. He and Brooks also say that Garrett was not sent to the hospital for seven hours after being shot.
Metro spokesperson Officer Jay Rivera, though, denied their accusations, stating that Garrett had fired the pistol, leading officers to feel he was still a threat. He added that officers were unable to contact the subject or even enter the room.
Brooks claims that the cops treated her and her family like “animals.” She alleges that authorities told her that her son was not even inside the house when he was shot, and that they never told her he had shot himself.
Officers have retrieved stolen property from prior incidents in which Garrett was involved. His family maintains that he was a wonderful child who shone in academics and aspired to be a basketball player.
The issue has subsequently shifted from if the responding cops performed correctly to whether his mom is entitled to $7 million. Whatever happens in the case, another adolescent has died after selecting a road of destruction, and no amount of money can ever bring him back.
