Trigger warning: Some readers may find details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised.
San Bernardino Country sheriff’s office on Thursday (Mar 14) released the footage of 15-year-old Ryan Gainer fatally shot by the police while he was holding a garden tool outside his house in California. Gainer, an autistic boy, was killed last Saturday in Apple Valley.
He was shot by at least one of two San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies dispatched to his home after relatives called 911 seeking help for what civil rights attorney DeWitt Lacy, representing the family, described as a mental health crisis.
In the recording of the call released by the sheriff’s office, screaming could be heard in the background as the caller, a female, said that Gainer was hitting his sibling sister and carrying a piece of broken glass that he at one point had held to his neck.
The caller requested the 911 dispatcher send the police to take the teenager in.
Here’s a look a the video moments before Gainer was killed (Warning: Disturbing content)
APPLE VALLEY-CA
15-year-old Ryan Gainer’s family called police because the allegedly autistic teen was terrorizing them.
Gainer, armed with a bladed gardening tool, attacked the San Bernardino deputy, who fired in self-defense.
Now BLM will use this case to reignite more riots pic.twitter.com/YUMNxwgzUb
— ᴛʜᴇ 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 ʀᴇᴘᴏʀᴛ ™ (@ClownsOfCSPAN) March 14, 2024
Speaking to Reuters, DeWitt Lacy said the tragedy unfolded when Gainer’s parents did not allow him to play video games or listen to music until he finished household chores. This angered the 15-year-old.
Gainer’s father calmed him down, but the teen grew agitated again when the police arrived and rushed toward them carrying a garden tool. Gainer raised the “bladed end of the tool and ran toward” one deputy who retreated with the boy chasing him in an attempt to “assault” the officer.
In a statement, the sheriff’s department said, “The deputy retreated and Gainer chased the deputy in an attempt to assault him with the bladed end of the tool. A lethal force encounter occurred, and Gainer was struck by gunfire. “
“Deputies quickly rendered medical aid to Gainer and continued until paramedics arrived. Gainer was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries,” the statement added.
Lacy told Reuters a medical professional who had examined Gainer told the family he had asphyxiated on vomit in his throat – an indication, the lawyer said, that prompt medical aid could have saved the boy’s life.
The lawyer noted that the sheriff’s department had not yet released full, unedited bodycam footage to the family, nor any audio from radio communications between the dispatcher and the deputies.
Lacy further told the news agency that the police knew about Gainer and his special needs, as officers were called to the house earlier in response to outbursts reported by the family.
(With inputs from agencies)
