Could a Black Man Pose Imminent Danger to a White Cop while Running Away from Him on the Other Side of a Fence? $20M Suit Filed after San Bernadino Cop Hunted/Murdered Robert Brown After Profile Stop

From [HERE] and [HERE] The city of San Bernardino is facing a $20 million wrongful death claim following a deadly police shooting in December.

On Dec. 27, 28-year-old Robert Brown was pulled over for an alleged expired registration. According to the San Bernardino police, Brown ran from the vehicle and hopped a fence while holding a handgun. An officer then fired several shots, fatally striking him.

Brown’s family says the shooting was an overreaction, and alleges that he was pulled over due to racial profiling.

“He didn’t deserve to die like that,” Brown’s father, Willie Brown, said. “He ran, so what? They shoot him in his back? For a traffic infraction? And to say he had a gun?”

“There was no reason for Robert to be shot,” said attorney Brad Gage, who filed a claim on behalf of Brown’s family. “When Robert was shot, he had no gun.”

Regardless of whether Brown had a weapon, Gage said, the officer opened fire as the suspect was fleeing and posing no danger to him. 

The officer violated department policy by engaging in the pursuit and not relaying his location to dispatch during the chase, the attorney said.

Gage also questioned the officer’s decision to shoot through the fence. 

“He doesn’t know what’s behind there, and that’s something that endangers everyone in the community,” he said.

In released body cam footage, Brown can be seen holding an object in his right hand as he runs away, which the police department claims is a gun. Police said a nine-millimeter handgun, which had been reported stolen from out of state, was found at the scene.

In a news release, police included video stills of the officer’s body-worn camera, circling Brown’s hands in red to indicate that he was carrying a gun.

But the family’s attorney, Brad Gage, questioned the police’s version of events. Brown’s family maintains in the claim that San Bernardino police “appear to have planted a gun in an attempt to claim the shooting was justified as self defense.” “A stolen gun could come from anywhere. That could be in the police locker,” Gage said.

Body-camera video released by Brown’s family shows the officer chasing him for a short distance. Brown runs past the gate of a home and into a backyard, then jumps over a fence, using both hands to pull himself over. 

“As such it was evident he was not holding any gun,” the claim reads. 

Tubbs yells out, “Stop, stop!” as Brown jumps over the tall chain-link fence, lined with wood panels, the video shows. 

The officer doesn’t jump over, instead shooting his gun five times through the fence, fatally wounding Brown.

The claim against San Bernardino alleges civil rights violations and seeks $20 million in damages. If it’s denied by the city, it could set the stage for a lawsuit.