No Criminal Charges For Lodi Police In Shooting Of Mentally Ill Lodi Man
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) - The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office has found that two Lodi police officers who shot and killed a mentally ill man were justified in their actions, and will not face criminal charges.
Police Corporal Scott Bratton and Officer Adam Lockie responded to a 911 call on January 25 made by Parminder Singh Shergill's sister-in-law where she tells a 911 dispatcher that Shergill is a paranoid schizophrenic who is "going crazy" and was attacking her mother-in-law inside the house.
The officers shot Shergill after, they say, he charged at them while outside and carrying a knife in his hand. However, Shergill's family disputes the police's account and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in April accusing the officers of using excessive force.
Police claim that the officers shot Shergill after he charged at them while outside and carrying a knife in his hand. However, Shergill's family disputes the police's account and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last month accusing the officers of using excessive force.
According to police, an officer states over a radio to dispatch that Shergill "has a knife in his right hand" and "he's refusing my commands." The officer then asked dispatch to call Shergill's family and "advise them to barricade the front door."
Police said that according to evidence, Shergill raised an 8-inch knife and came toward the officers while verbally threatening them.
"Officers fired their handguns until Shergill fell to the ground and was no longer a threat to their safety," police said.
Police said that 14 shots were fired during the shooting. Shergill's relatives have said they counted 14 bullet holes in his body and have questioned why police fired that many times.
Mark Merin, a lawyer for Shergill's family, said police chose to release certain aspects about the investigation and not such information including the autopsy and toxicology and forensic reports.
Merin also said that Shergill was yelling at his mother, not attacking her.
Shergill's family said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after participating in Operation Desert Storm in the 1990s.
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