№00290

Eloy Gonzalez

In September 2020, 41-year-old Eloy Gonzalez Jr. was shot and killed by deputies in Stanislaus County, California.

Deputies were responding to an alarm call and found Gonzalez. Surveillance footage shows that Gonzalez refused to come out from behind the bushes, and that the situation escalated when more deputies arrived. The police department claims Gonzalez threatened officers with a hatchet, so they opened fire on him.

Gonzalez’s relatives disagree with the police statement, arguing that he suffered from a severe mental illness and could not behave aggressively, especially with armed police officers. In July 2021, his family sued the city and the police department and accused the deputies of using excessive force and failing to try to deescalate the situation. The lawsuit was filed despite the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office has completed its investigation in this case and found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the deputies

СМИ

MASS MEDIA ABOUT THE CASE:

“Before he was shot and killed, he had not been aggressive in any way,” said civil rights attorney John Burris.
Fox 40

“After multiple minutes of Mr. Gonzalez attempting to calmly communicate with deputies who were aggressively screaming at him, the deputies became violent. One deputy fired a beanbag shotgun at Mr. Gonzalez, and then almost immediately, multiple additional deputies rushed to tackle him while continuing their verbal assaults,” the lawsuit alleges.
The Davis Vanguard

FILES

CASE STATUS:

The initiative group has requested the clarification from US President Joseph Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland. The initiative group believes it is important to fight against police brutality and, if necessary, will provide legal and financial assistance to the family of the victim.