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Indybay Feature
Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against SFPD
The family of Idriss Stelley have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the San Francisco Police Department. Nine SFPD officers shot Idriss over 20 times, killing him.
<strong>Mother of Young Man Killed by SFPD Files Civil Rights Lawsuit<br>
Lawsuit to be Filed Today in Federal Court Against SFPD for Metreon Shooting</strong>
<br><br>
San Francisco - The mother of Idriss Stelley, the young man killed by San Francisco Police Officers at the Metreon Theater, will file a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit today, Tuesday January 29th. The lawsuit names nine SFPD officers and alleges that the more than 20 shots fired at Idriss Stelley were unjustified. The lawsuit comes on the heals of a resolution unanimously passed by the San Francisco Supervisors calling for psychiatric crisis intervention training for all SFPD officers.
<br><br>
Stelley, an African-American 4.0 college student, was suffering from a psychiatric crisis when SFPD officers shot him more than 20 times. The police were called by Summer Galbreath, Stelley¹s fiancé, who asked for a 5150 the police code for emergency response in the case of a psychiatric crisis. None of the officers involved had received crisis intervention training.
<br><br>
Ms. Galbreath and Stelley¹s mother, Mesha Monge-Irizarry will be available for comment and in-person interviews regarding the filing of the lawsuit. The family¹s attorney, Andrew Schwartz, a prominent police misconduct litigator and Bay Area PoliceWatch lawyer referral panel member will be available for comment from his offices in Walnut Creek.
<br><br>
"The use of force by the SFPD was unjustified. The officers involved had no business firing their weapons and the city must be held liable for it's employees misconduct." said Andrew Schwartz, the family's attorney.
<br><br>
"The SFPD has been hiding for nearly 8 months behind closed doors that should have been wide open to this family. We are calling on the new city attorney, Dan Herrera, a former police commissioner, to do the right thing and acknowledge the blatant misconduct in this case and settle it out of court." said Monge-Irizarry.
<br><br>
Bay Area PoliceWatch, a local watchdog group working with the family, has expressed concern about the Police Department's continued withholding of information from the family. Since her son¹s death, despite persistent requests, Ms. Monge-Irizarry has yet to receive her son's personal belongings or the names of the four civilian witnesses known to be present during the shooting.
<br><br>
"We hope that the filing of this lawsuit will force the San Francisco Police Department to finally release such basic information as the names of the civilian witnesses," said Samantha Liapes, Bay Area PoliceWatch Director. "It is a travesty of justice and a shame on the San Francisco Police Department that the family has to rely on litigation to access to the truth about what really happened that night."
<br><br>
For more information, contact:<br>
Samantha Liapes, Director, Bay Area PoliceWatch (415) 317-3486
Lawsuit to be Filed Today in Federal Court Against SFPD for Metreon Shooting</strong>
<br><br>
San Francisco - The mother of Idriss Stelley, the young man killed by San Francisco Police Officers at the Metreon Theater, will file a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit today, Tuesday January 29th. The lawsuit names nine SFPD officers and alleges that the more than 20 shots fired at Idriss Stelley were unjustified. The lawsuit comes on the heals of a resolution unanimously passed by the San Francisco Supervisors calling for psychiatric crisis intervention training for all SFPD officers.
<br><br>
Stelley, an African-American 4.0 college student, was suffering from a psychiatric crisis when SFPD officers shot him more than 20 times. The police were called by Summer Galbreath, Stelley¹s fiancé, who asked for a 5150 the police code for emergency response in the case of a psychiatric crisis. None of the officers involved had received crisis intervention training.
<br><br>
Ms. Galbreath and Stelley¹s mother, Mesha Monge-Irizarry will be available for comment and in-person interviews regarding the filing of the lawsuit. The family¹s attorney, Andrew Schwartz, a prominent police misconduct litigator and Bay Area PoliceWatch lawyer referral panel member will be available for comment from his offices in Walnut Creek.
<br><br>
"The use of force by the SFPD was unjustified. The officers involved had no business firing their weapons and the city must be held liable for it's employees misconduct." said Andrew Schwartz, the family's attorney.
<br><br>
"The SFPD has been hiding for nearly 8 months behind closed doors that should have been wide open to this family. We are calling on the new city attorney, Dan Herrera, a former police commissioner, to do the right thing and acknowledge the blatant misconduct in this case and settle it out of court." said Monge-Irizarry.
<br><br>
Bay Area PoliceWatch, a local watchdog group working with the family, has expressed concern about the Police Department's continued withholding of information from the family. Since her son¹s death, despite persistent requests, Ms. Monge-Irizarry has yet to receive her son's personal belongings or the names of the four civilian witnesses known to be present during the shooting.
<br><br>
"We hope that the filing of this lawsuit will force the San Francisco Police Department to finally release such basic information as the names of the civilian witnesses," said Samantha Liapes, Bay Area PoliceWatch Director. "It is a travesty of justice and a shame on the San Francisco Police Department that the family has to rely on litigation to access to the truth about what really happened that night."
<br><br>
For more information, contact:<br>
Samantha Liapes, Director, Bay Area PoliceWatch (415) 317-3486
For more information:
http://www.justice4idriss.org/
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Actually, that is Civil Code section 5150 that allows for the _discretionary_ (not manditory) civil committment of people for three days against their will.
As taught to therapists by the County of Santa Clara, to be "5150'd" one has to:
1. Have a mental disorder, and
a. be a danger to oneself or others _as_a_result_of_the_disorder, or
b. be "gravely disabled." (ie. unable to provide food, water, clothes, housing, medical treatment, etc.)
As a mental health professional I have watched police try to 5150 someone for "talking to himself ehile walking down a dry creekbed" or actually 5150 someone because "the neighbors are complaining that he's talking to himself" (inside his house, wearing clothes, with a refrigerator full of food and medications on the bathroom sink).
We should be ashamed of how we abuse Section 5150!
Owe, I totally agree. At last week national convention of Oct 22 in Greensboro, I met an overwhelming number of grieving families, 92% African Americans to be precise, most from poor, suburban areas in the US. Look at the faces of people slaughtered by Law Enforcement in "Stolen Lives". 90%. No further comments on the criminilization of a generation.
Mesha, Idriss Stelley's mother.