Jack-Officer who Shot a Latino Man 13X said ‘He Pointed a Black Gun at My Face and I heard it Go Off,’ but there was No Such Gun and Only Heard Another Cop Firing. Suit Filed Against Tolleson Police

NO REASON TO SHOOT. From [HERE] A West Valley man says he’s lucky to be alive after being shot more than a dozen times by Tolleson police officers, and now he’s planning to sue the city.

Ricky Barron’s attorney, Robert Pastor, said his client is a single father to twin 14-year-old girls and spent two months in the hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries, including amputations.

He’s now in a wheelchair and unable to take care of himself or his daughters on his own.

“He is struggling just to get back up on his own feet, literally,” said Pastor.

On March 28, 32 shots rang out in a matter of seconds, and all of the gunfire came from two Tolleson police officers.

Nearly one minute after the first shot was fired, police body camera video shows an officer pull the trigger again. Barron was unarmed.

“They shot first and asked questions later,” said Pastor, who added that Barron was hit 13 times.

“Where’s the gun at?” asked an officer on body camera footage after the gunfire. “I don’t have one,” replied Barron.

Body camera footage shows paramedics treating Barron on the scene while police search for his weapon.

“I know for a fact he said ‘I have a gun’ and pointed what I thought was a black pistol at me and I heard a pow and a flash,” said an officer on body camera footage.

They never find a firearm.

“Did you hear the gunshot?,” asked one officer on body camera footage. “Yeah,“ replied another officer. ”I heard a gunshot in my face," the first officer said. “Yeah. I heard a pop. A loud pop,” said the other.

Investigators later determined that the loud pop was from an officer’s pistol and that the flash was likely the flashlight on Barron’s cellphone.

It has now been six months since it began, starting the day before, as a shoplifting and stolen license plate investigation.

According to a police report, Tolleson police received a call about a woman stealing two beers from a gas station before getting into a silver Nissan pickup truck.

Officers believe they saw that same truck a few hours later with a stolen license plate, and then early the next morning, Barron borrowed the truck from a friend.

“There’s no evidence that he was involved in that at all,” said Pastor.

Barron is known to law enforcement and has a violent criminal history, but Pastor said his client’s past does not justify excessive force in this case.

“There was no gun. There was no risk of harm and they had no reason to shoot this man at all,” said Pastor. “These two officers acted like judge and jury, and they had no business doing so.”

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirms both officers were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. They are still employed by the Tolleson Police Department and remain on active-duty status.

Barron is planning to sue the city of Tolleson and the officers involved. He is asking for $135 million to settle, according to the notice of claim obtained by Arizona’s Family.

Pastor said they also plan to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.