A federal judge concluded last month that a Lakewood police sergeant did not violate a man’s constitutional rights by shooting and killing him while trying to evacuate him from a burning basement.

Jason Waterhouse was behaving erratically when he barricaded himself in the basement of his sister’s home, then started a fire while officers attempted to coax him out. As police went inside to extricate him from the blaze, Waterhouse ran out of his hiding spot.

Although multiple officers did not recall Waterhouse having a weapon, Sgt. Marc Direzza “perceived” Waterhouse to be holding something and shot him. Waterhouse died from his injury.

Waterhouse’s surviving sister and daughter sued Direzza for excessive force. Direzza, in turn, asserted qualified immunity, which shields government employees from civil liability unless they violate a person’s clear constitutional rights. Under the circumstances, Direzza argued, his use of deadly force was reasonable.

In an Oct. 18 order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathryn A. Starnella agreed.

The evidence “demonstrates that a reasonable officer caught in a split-second decision-making situation could have believed that Mr. Waterhouse was armed and dangerous,” she wrote.

Lakewood police responded to the 2400 block of Youngfield Street on Dec. 19, 2019. They learned Waterhouse was barricaded under the stairs of his sister’s home, armed with a hammer and “on something,” possibly alcohol or methamphetamine. Waterhouse was out on bond for allegedly assaulting a police officer, although he had no firearms in the house.

When police told Waterhouse’s sister they would not try to remove him unless she wanted him charged for damaging her house, she responded, “Yeah. Then if that’s what it takes (because) I can’t deal with this.”

A SWAT negotiator attempted to coax Waterhouse out, but Waterhouse instead screamed obscenities. He then started a fire in the basement, prompting seven officers to go in and find him. They only spent one minute in the basement, as the fire had grown larger. Waterhouse briefly appeared, holding a large stick, before retreating into a bedroom.

The officers evacuated up the stairs. The last ones to leave were Chase Williams, armed with a “less-lethal” weapon, and Direzza, with his gun. Suddenly, Waterhouse ran out of the bedroom toward the officers. Williams shot him with a bean bag and Direzza shot him with a bullet. Officers pulled Waterhouse outside, but he ultimately died from his gunshot wound.

Lakewood denied that Direzza’s use of force against Waterhouse was unconstitutional. Even if Waterhouse was not armed with the hammer or stick when he charged the officers, the city attorney’s office wrote, his willingness to commit arson in the presence of police and to suddenly run at them gave Direzza grounds to treat him as a threat.

“There is no reasonable debate over whether an officer in Direzza’s circumstances was justified in fearing for his life, or for the life of others, because of Mr. Waterhouse’s decisions and the infernal chaos he created,” the city’s lawyers wrote.

The plaintiffs countered that two officers stated they did not see Waterhouse holding weapons at the time he ran through the basement, and it appeared he was only trying to get to the stairs.

Starnella, in analyzing several factors to determine whether Direzza’s use of force was excessive, decided lethal force was a reasonable tool for an officer in Direzza’s shoes.

It was “undisputed that Mr. Waterhouse had access to weapons and had previously been holding at least two different weapons,” she wrote. “Defendant had little or no time to assess conclusively whether Mr. Waterhouse had one or both of those weapons in his hands.”

Starnella also critiqued the plaintiffs’ insistence that Direzza acted unreasonably because he shot Waterhouse “in the back.” Starnella observed the bean bag that hit Waterhouse likely spun him around, causing Direzza’s bullet to enter through the back.

The plaintiffs have since moved to appeal the decision.

Heather Lopez, Waterhouse’s sister who made the police report after Waterhouse began acting paranoid, later said she regretted doing so.

“I feel like my brother’s death is on my hands,” she told 9News.

The case is Estate of Waterhouse et al. v. Direzza.