Prominent civil rights law firm representing family of Charlie Foster, killed in Summit County police shooting
A prominent Denver-based civil rights law firm is now representing the family of Charlie Foster, who was shot and killed by two law enforcement officers in Summit County on Sunday.
Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC has represented families of victims in high-profile deaths involving or at the hands of police, including the families of Elijah McClain and Christian Glass. That comes on the heels of Colorado's 5th Judicial District identifying the officers that fired their weapons in Sunday's Summit County shooting.
News of the firm taking the Foster family on as clients was confirmed to CBS News Colorado Wednesday by attorney Matt Cron.
Cron said the firm didn't have any additional comment on Wednesday and that Foster's family wanted privacy as the continue to mourn.
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Also Wednesday, the 5th Judicial District Attorney's Office identified Summit County Sheriff's Deputy Vincent Moquin and Dillon Police Officer Allen Jambor as the two officers that shot or shot at 18-year-old Foster. The Summit County Coroner's Office has not yet identified the person killed in the shooting, Foster's aunt identified him and told the Summit Daily News on Sunday that her nephew was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Moquin has been employed with the Summit County Sheriff's Office for two years, and has been a certified peace officer in Colorado for a year and a half. Jambor has been with the Dillon Police Department for three years and has been a certified Colorado police officer since 2013.
The Summit County Sheriff's Office Wednesday denied an open records request filed by CBS News Colorado for bodycamera video of the shooting, citing an ongoing investigation into the shooting and privacy concerns for both Foster and his family, and the officers that shot Foster. The sheriff's office's statement alluded to the fact that it will likely be released in the future, which is also required by state law.
News of Sunday's shooting elicited strong emotions in the parents of Glass, a 22-year-old man who was shot and killed by law enforcement officers in Clear Creek County while he was having a mental health crisis. Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC has been representing Glass' parents since soon after their son was killed.
"When they learned near the one-year anniversary of Christian's death there was another killing of a young man going through a mental health crisis, they were simply triggered," their attorney, Qusair Mohamedbhai, told CBS News Colorado earlier this week. "They started bawling. They were brought back to their first 24 hours which they described as the worst of their lives, and these types of incidents with law enforcement are simply devastating in our community."
Clear Creek Sheriff Rick Albers also announced his retirement Wednesday, after calls for his resignation from Glass' parents.
Foster was shot and killed around 7:40 a.m. Sunday morning, less than 15 minutes after police from several agencies responded to a call about someone with a gun. Police say he pointed the gun at officers and they shot him. His aunt says it was a BB gun and was experiencing a mental health crisis. No evidence has been made public to support or refute those claims as of Wednesday.
Foster had just graduated from Summit High School in May.
Local nonprofit Building Hope Summit County said it will be offering support to anyone affected by the shooting. It offered walk-in services Monday and will continue those efforts to help the community heal.