From [HERE] and [HERE] Attorney Mark Merin has filed a civil rights claim on behalf of the family of Sherrano Stingley against former Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones and other unknown personnel for use of excessive force, unreasonable medical care, assault/battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The claim is the precursor of a federal civil rights suit which will be filed in 45 days.

The family also wants more than just compensation, alleging wrongful death and that Sherrano’s constitutional and civil rights were violated. They want justice, and what that looks like is change from top to bottom, more training and potentially Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies behind bars.

“You can tell that Mr. Stingley was unarmed, he was obviously distressed, he was no threat and yet he ended up dead,” Merin said at a press conference Wednesday. “What we’ve seen so far is one edited video that shows only a part of the story. What we haven’t seen is, what was the sheriff officer doing who was at Mr. Stingley’s head? He didn’t just die of heart failure. He didn’t die of some kind of a preexisting condition. He died because he was killed right there, he was suffocated, he was struck.”

The lone body camera video shows Stingley unconscious around 5:45 a.m.

His family said their father was having a mental health episode and was trying to get into the wrong car and home, which is shown in this video they provided us from a neighbor’s security camera.

The situation unfolded after 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The sheriff’s office said they received a call from a person on the 7500 block of Whisperwillow Drive saying there was someone underneath their work vehicle who was attempting to steal their catalytic converter. The caller later said someone was trying to kick in the door to their home and they hid in the garage with their children, according to the sheriff’s office.

Three deputies responded to the call, but the sheriff's office released a single body camera video of one deputy's perspective.

The video shows the man coming out of the front gate of a home and running when he sees deputies. He then shows his hands and sits.

Black Lives Matter Sacramento is calling for all of the audio and video of the incident to be released. Tanya Faison is representing the family on behalf of the organization.

“Tackled at 5:21 a.m. and the EMT did not get there until 6:02 a.m. and that whole time while they waited, they did not give him any CPR,” said Faison.

On the Black Lives Matter Facebook page, photos appear to show wounds on Stingley’s palm and neck that the Stingley family said are from being tased. At the end of the bodycam video, a discharged taser is seen being looked at by deputies.

Stingley’s daughter Dymin wants justice for her father.

“He got down and his hands were behind his head, and they were still striking him,” she said. He never hit anybody or wrestled anybody to the floor at all. [Deputies] sentenced him to death and y’all didn’t even know if he [was] guilty. He was not guilty at all.”

“He did not die on his own. He did not die from nothing else but being brutally beaten cause that’s what he got and suffocated, another George Floyd,” said Dymin Stingley.

“(This is) another example of cruel and inhuman vicious treatment by callous sheriff deputies against an obviously mentally ill Black man in Sacramento who needed care and treatment instead of brutal deadly force,” said Tanya Faison, executive director of Sacramento Black Lives Matter, which is supporting the Stingley family’s quest for justice.

Attorney Mark Merin says this is Sheriff Cooper’s opportunity to change the policy practices of the department, calling for suspension of the deputies and an outside investigation.

“Sheriffs are never charged, officers are never charged when they kill somebody, and that has to change and it will change,” said Merin.

Stingley’s sister Dr. Andrea Moore also wants medical investigators to look into the case. The family said that Stingley died in police custody.

“It is a tragedy that once again another family has to deal with this, and the police are blaming the victim for their own killing.”

Merin said the county has 45 days to attempt to resolve the claim, but he believes it will be rejected and then they will file in federal court.

In federal court, it will be a federal civil rights claim and they will attach constitutional state claims. They will also be seeking compensation for the family.

Stingley's family is raising money for a memorial service and independent autopsy.