The son of a man killed by San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies sued the county in federal court Dec. 10 on eight claims, including excessive force, failure to train, ratifying unjustified use of force, battery and violation of the Bane Act.
David Wert, San Bernardino County public information officer, deferred comment to the sheriff’s department.
The sheriff’s department did not respond to a message left with their chief public information officer.
Lucerne Valley shooting
Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Rocky Brandon II’s father, Rocky Brandon, after 5:30 a.m. Dec. 18, 2020, when Brandon Sr. was unarmed and waiting in his car for the Lucerne Valley Sinclair gas station to open, the suit alleges.
Deputies are trained not to fire at a moving vehicle, the suit alleges. There was no crime in progress, and deputies did not have any information that a person was harmed or about to be harmed by Brandon, the suit alleges.
The sheriff’s release claimed Brandon Sr. had a knife, which he brandished at a gas station employee. Deputies arrived after the employee called the police, and Brandon Sr. collided into a sheriff’s car when confronted, according to the release.
Deputies ineffectively shot him with a less than lethal shotgun, and “a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” according to the release.
The case
The lawsuit claims the county unreasonably used excessive force and violated Rocky Brandon’s due process. The county also carried out 13 unconstitutional practices according to the lawsuit, including excessive force, providing inadequate training, inadequately supervising deputies, defending unjustified uses of force, not disciplining deputies who commit misconduct and encouraging a “blue code of silence,” the suit claims.
Brandon’s lawsuit claimed sheriff’s deputies had racked up 11 other suits due to deputy use of force, and that the county did not discipline or reprimand any of the responsible deputies. The suit mentioned the 2013 fatal shooting of Merlin Factor, the 2015 fatal shooting of Nathanael Pickett, the 2018 fatal shooting of Lajuana Phillips, the 2019 fatal shooting of Darrell Allen, Jr. and the 2011 death of Allen Kephart.
Parties
Dale Galipo and Marcel Sincich of the Woodland Hills Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo, and Bruce Margolin of the Los Angeles Law Office of Bruce Margolin represent Rocky Brandon II.
Counsel for the county has not been announced.
California Central District Judge John Holcomb presides.
Case no: 5:2021cv02071
Read the filing here.
