SAN DIEGO — The mother of a 19-year-old man who was shot and killed by police on a San Diego trolley earlier this month says they are seeking legal action to find out why their son was killed and why officers failed to recognize that he was in the midst of a mental health crisis and was not a danger.
"My son was 19 years old and full of life, says Sanchez Ramos's mother, Olimpia Neal. "We supported him so much and we loved him so much. It's very difficult. He was having a hard time with mental illness. No one deserves to die in this way."
On Thursday, June 22, Neal and her attorney, Stephen King, submitted a legal claim to the city of San Diego, the first step prior to filing a lawsuit.
"The police could have approached this in a different way," said Neal. "He was by himself, sitting."
Police were called to the Iris Avenue Trolley Station just before 9 pm on June 4 to investigate a report that a man, later identified as Mauricio Sanchez Ramos, had what appeared to be a gun on the trolley.
Edited body cam and surveillance footage released by the San Diego Police Department nine days after the shooting, shows Sanchez Ramos flash what was later found to be a BB gun at a surveillance camera on the trolley.
Minutes after police received the call, officers positioned themselves at the San Ysidro Trolley Station waiting for Sanchez Ramos to arrive at the stop.
Body cam footage showed Sanchez Ramos sitting, rocking back and forth on the trolley as police made several demands for him to drop the weapon.
Instead, the video shows the 19-year-old raising the weapon at an officer who then opened fire.
San Diego Police declined to comment on the legal claim, citing pending litigation.