Multiple Pueblo County sheriff’s employees will face a civil jury trial after one deputy shot and killed a man outside a middle school and other deputies placed his mother under arrest for hours without justification, a federal judge ruled earlier this month.

Kristy Ward Stamp, mother of the late Richard Ward, alleged Deputy Charles McWhorter, Pueblo County and other sheriff’s officials violated her son’s rights by fatally shooting him. Also, they violated her own rights by detaining her and seizing her property without probable cause of a crime.

In a May 9 order, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney agreed jurors could find Ward’s conduct in the moments before his killing did not justify the use of deadly force.

“Further, and crucially, a reasonable jury could find that Mr. Ward made no hostile movements that rise to the level of ‘resisting’ detention, or that he manifested any intention to flee, justifying the use of deadly force against him,” she wrote.

On Feb. 22, 2022, Ward rode with his mother and her boyfriend to Liberty Point International School to pick up Ward’s younger brother. At one point, Ward left their white SUV and, when he returned, mistook another white SUV for the one he arrived in. After realizing his mistake, he reportedly exited the vehicle, apologized and found the right vehicle.

McWhorter and Deputy Cassandra Gonzales responded to a call about Ward’s behavior. Their body-worn cameras captured the moments leading up to Ward’s death.

“Just looking for my little brother,” Ward explained to McWhorter, opening the SUV door as the deputy approached. Ward had one hand in his jacket pocket, which McWhorter appeared to pull. Ward asked why McWhorter was touching him.

“Why you acting like this?” McWhorter responded.

“I’m a little nervous because I don’t like cops,” Ward said. “They’ve done things to me,” meaning physical force.

McWhorter said he understood Ward was “going around trying to mess with doors.” Ward insisted he thought the other white SUV was his and that he apologized to the woman inside. McWhorter asked if Ward was under the influence or had weapons.

While Ward was going through his pockets, he ingested what the lawsuit described as an anti-anxiety tablet.

“What did you just stick in your mouth?” McWhorter demanded and immediately pulled Ward out of the SUV.

“It was a pill. Let me go!” Ward screamed.

Within 20 seconds of wrestling on the ground, McWhorter shot Ward three times. Ward Stamp and her boyfriend began screaming. McWhorter stood above Ward’s body and did not render aid, nor did Gonzales. Instead, McWhorter shut the SUV door and said he “bloodied (his) nose.”

Ward died from his injuries.

Then-District Attorney Jeff Chostner cleared McWhorter and Gonzales of criminal liability and The Pueblo Chieftain reported McWhorter received an award from the sheriff’s office one year after killing Ward.

The defendants moved to end Ward Stamp’s claims of excessive force in their favor without a trial. They argued Ward’s actions “required law enforcement intervention” and the “violent struggle” caused McWhorter to fear “for his life.”

“While Deputy McWhorter attempted to continue his investigation, Ward covertly stuck something in his mouth and swallowed it, appearing to destroy evidence of a possible crime,” the defense attorneys wrote, without elaborating on what the crime might be. “When Ward reached into his jacket, Deputy McWhorter reasonably believed that Ward could have been reaching for a weapon.”

“A reasonable jury could find that McWhorter’s story did not happen,” countered Ward Stamp’s lawyers. “A reasonable jury, based on the considerable evidence in the record, could instead find that throughout their interaction with Mr. Ward before they unjustifiably pulled him out of the car, Defendants McWhorter and Gonzales were simply talking to (someone) suspected of no crime (or, at worst, a very minor infraction) and that he was being responsive and cooperative with them.”

Sweeney agreed with Ward Stamp. She believed a jury could reject McWhorter’s claim that Ward posed a threat to him and find the shooting “excessive and objectively unreasonable.”

Ward Stamp also moved to end her own unlawful arrest claim in her favor without a trial. Following her son’s killing, sheriff’s personnel handcuffed her, placed her in a vehicle, patted her down, indicated she was not free to leave, took her to the sheriff’s office, interviewed her and — after nearly three hours — let her go. Law enforcement held onto her personal items for days, and her car for months.

The defendants argued they took Ward Stamp into custody at the direction of the critical incident team that was investigating the shooting. As such, they acted in “good faith.”

Sweeney was unconvinced.

She noted that multiple defendants acknowledged there was no probable cause to arrest Ward Stamp. Based on that admission, no jury could conclude sheriff’s personnel acted in good faith by detaining her for so long that she was effectively under arrest.

Sweeney did, however, decline to end Ward Stamp’s claims against Pueblo County outright. A jury would have to decide whether the county’s own policies caused the violation of Ward Stamp’s constitutional rights, she concluded.

Sweeney has scheduled a 10-day jury trial to begin in November.

The case is Estate of Richard Ward et al. v. Lucero et al.