Family files claim against Napa County Sheriff's Office in fatal shooting of Juan Adrian Garcia

A law firm representing the family of Juan Adrian Garcia announced Tuesday morning it has filed a claim against Napa County for what it called "completely unjustified" use of force in the deadly shooting of Garcia by a sheriff's deputy in October.

The claim, a prelude to a potential lawsuit, asserts that the 47-year-old Napa resident and father of three was unarmed and not a threat when he was shot six times during a traffic stop that was captured by the deputy's body-worn video camera.

Lawyers for Garcia's family alleged that Sgt. David Ackman used excessive force and failed to give Garcia legally required warnings before he was killed.

The complaint targets Napa County and Sheriff John Robertson as well as Ackman, a 21-year member of the Sheriff's Office who authorities say shot Garcia after a traffic stop at Highway 221 and Kaiser Road on the night of Oct. 5. Garcia was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center, where he died the next night.

"This unprovoked murder of an unarmed, non-threatening Mr. Garcia, followed by their lack of transparency, is a terrible violation of Mr. Garcia and his family's constitutional rights," attorney Michael Haddad of the Oakland-based civil-rights law firm Haddad & Sherwin LLP said in the news release.

Lawyers demanded that the Sheriff's Office preserve evidence and records connected to the shooting, including audio-video recordings, photographs, physical evidence, reports, and medical and other records.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff Robertson had not seen the filing by Garcia's family and had no comment, according to spokesperson Henry Wofford.

On Oct. 5, Ackman stopped Garcia's vehicle after seeing its headlights were off, Sheriff Robertson said at the time. A minute-long body camera video later released by the Sheriff's Office shows Garcia pulling off to the roadside, opening the driver-side door and then throwing his cellphone over the car's roof, still seated, as Ackman points his gun at the vehicle.

Garcia can be seen emerging from his vehicle with Ackman's gun still trained on him, then ambling toward Ackman before slowly placing both of his hands behind his back.

Ackman holsters his gun, and can be heard telling Garcia to turn around, believing Garcia meant for Ackman to handcuff him, Robertson said during an October news conference. But Garcia does not heed Ackman's calls to do so and again starts to walk toward Ackman, leaving only one of his hands behind his back.

Then Ackman redraws his gun, and once more points his flashlight toward Garcia, who can be seen taking a step backward and then hesitating for a moment. Garcia then begins walking once more — the footage does not make clear in which direction — and Ackman circles his police vehicle, backing away from Garcia and walking toward the front of his car.

Fifty-one seconds into the video, Ackman again points his gun at Garcia, this time from over the hood of his vehicle. Garcia then begins to walk toward Ackman, who shouts for Garcia to stop.

Ackman's two subsequent cries of "Stop!" then escalate in their urgency: Garcia continues to approach Ackman, who then fired six successive shots at Garcia over the span of three seconds. Five bullets hit Garcia in the torso and one in the leg, Robertson said during the Oct. 14 news conference where the video was shown.

According to the complaint, the headlights of Ackman's patrol vehicle should have clearly shown that Garcia emerged from his vehicle with empty hands.

"Sergeant Ackman chose to use unlawful deadly force against Mr. Garcia, in violation of his duties to ensure that any use of deadly force was both necessary and in response to an immediate threat of death or serious injury," Haddad said in the statement. "Ackman also failed to give Mr. Garcia a legally required warning before virtually ensuring his death by deadly force. Ackman also failed to evaluate the need for every single shot before firing, appearing to fire six unnecessary shots in a panic.

"Further, Sergeant Ackman chose not to use his vehicle for cover if he felt threatened by Mr. Garcia, nor to order Mr. Garcia to show his hands or get on the ground, nor to use any less-lethal alternatives to deadly force. All in all, this tragic use of deadly force was completely unjustified."

Haddad also alleged that Napa County employees who questioned Garcia's mother and Eva Lopez Hernandez, Garcia's life partner, the day after the shooting did not share any details of the incident or his injuries until afterward. Furthermore, Garcia's body was guarded at the hospital and family members were not allowed to take final pictures of him, Haddad stated.

In addition, the claim alleges the Sheriff's Office has rebuffed the Garcia family's requests for records about the shooting, including coroner and autopsy reports. The department also declined to share surveillance videos it received from businesses near the incident scene, and also did not share footage from Ackman's dashboard-mounted camera in his patrol vehicle, saying it was not relevant, the law firm said.

"Respondents have refused to allow Claimants and Claimants' counsel to review any information or recordings concerning this shooting beyond a video production containing a short excerpt of Respondent Ackman's bodycam video Respondent County distributed to the press and posted on social media as part of Respondents' public relations campaign," the filing stated. "Respondents have instructed others in possession of relevant video and information, including the Napa Police Department, to withhold this relevant information from Claimants and the public."

An investigation by the county's Major Crimes Task Force — which includes the county District Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Office and the Napa Police Department — was expected to last between six and eight months, Operations Division Capt. Cullen Dodd said in October.

Garcia was a line cook at Tarla Mediterranean Bar + Grill, a restaurant in downtown Napa. He had been arrested at least three times on suspicion of driving under the influence, most recently in 2019.

In a statement released Tuesday, Lopez described him as a devoted father who gladly took care of their sons, taking them to school and working nights while she worked days to ensure at least one parent was always home.

"Juan was a devoted family man and very close to me, our children, his parents and his brothers and sisters," she wrote. He was a really wonderful person. Of course, he had his faults, nobody is perfect. But I felt like Juan was a gift from God to me."

"... What I really want is justice. I want the Sheriff's office to know that this completely destroyed my family. My family will never be together again. This never should have happened. Transparency and accountability are so important. My children still have to grow up in this community. I want them to be safe."

Garcia's death was the second fatal shooting in less than six months involving the Sheriff's Office. In May, Deputy Gregg Lee shot and killed 24-year-old Brandan Reid Nylander after Nylander led officers on a vehicle pursuit and then emerged from his car holding a shotgun.

In December, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley decided that Lee would not be charged criminally. "The use of deadly force by Deputy Lee was a reasonable and lawful response under the totality of the circumstances," her office announced.

You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com