Trevor  Seever

On December 29, 2020, a police officer who was responding to a 911 call killed Trevor Seever, a resident of the city of Modesto, California. According to officials, the victim’s sister called police officer Joseph Lamantia through the rescue service in order to calm Seever, who had a nervous breakdown.

Instead, the police officer shot Seever. The published video from the body camera of the police officer shows the officer running out of the patrol car, shouting at Seever to make him lie down on the ground. At the same time, the policeman made 4 shots at Trevor. Immediately after this, the detainee was on his knees with his hands raised. At the same time, Lamantia demanded from Seever to put his hands down and fired three more times. From the received gunshot wounds, the twenty-nine-year-old Seever died in the hospital.

An investigation  the Use of Force Review Board found that the actions of the police officer violated the procedures and regulations of the Police Department of the City of Modesto. Lamantia was fired from the police and put in custody. The family of the murdered man demands that Lamantia be sentenced for premeditated murder.

In May 2021, the parents of Trevor Seever have filed separate wrongful death claims against the city of Modesto for his Dec. 29 death after being shot by then-police officer Joseph Lamantia. Since his death, Trevor Seever’s mother — as well as two of his siblings — have been vocal in their quest for justice, speaking regularly at city council meetings and protests in Modesto.