Family of man shot and killed by Raleigh police sues officer, the chief and city
The family of a man who was shot and killed by a Raleigh police officer last year has sued the city over his death.
Soheil Mojarrad, a 30-year-old man, was fatally shot April 20, 2019. He was accused of stealing a cell phone from a gas station and was brandishing a knife, according to police.
“His wrongful death at the young age of 30 was the result of both misconduct by the individual police officer, and serious policy and training failures of the Raleigh Police Department,” according to a news release sent by a public relations firm for Edwards Kirby, a personal-injury law firm led by former U.S. Sen. John Edwards and David Kirby.
The suit, filed Tuesday by Mojarrad’s brother, Siavash, names Senior Police Officer William Brett Edwards, who shot Mojarrad; Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown; City Manager Ruffin Hall; and the city. Edwards was hired by the Raleigh Police Department in 2000.
The city and the Raleigh Police Department cannot comment on pending legal matters, they said in statements.
The lawsuit comes amid ongoing protests in Raleigh and across the United States over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Four officers have been charged in his death, including one with second-degree murder.
Later Tuesday, a vigil was organized in Moore Square in downtown Raleigh by the activist group N.C. B.O.R.N. (North Carolina Building Our Revolution Now). The vigil recognized Mojarrad as well as other men who died or faced excessive force at the hands of RAleigh police — Jaqwan Terry, Kyron Hinton, Akiel Denkins, Trindell Thomas, Soheil Mojarrad, Maurice Harden and Keith Collins,
“This is about driving for change,” said Siavash Mojarrad Tuesday night. “This is about reminding people in power, yes, we have anger, but we have sorrow.”
“Dangerous policies”
The lawsuit claims the Police Department has a history of excessive force and lists the names of people who have been shot and killed by local police.
“Raleigh, Deck-Brown and Hall knew that their inadequate policies, customs, practices, training, and supervision created a substantial risk of harm to the citizens of Raleigh,” the lawsuit states. “They, however, did nothing to remedy their deficiencies and continued to utilize those inadequate policies, customs, practices, training and supervision.”
The lawsuit specifically calls out the Police Department policy on body-worn cameras and when to use force.
“Defendants Deck-Brown, Hall and city of Raleigh created policies that led to the foreseeable, preventable wrongful death of Soheil Mojarrad,” the lawsuit states.
“These policies and customs included an inadequate body camera policy that permitted rampant unaccountability for officers in use of force scenarios as well as an inadequate training regarding the use of deadly force,” it states.
Edwards was wearing a body camera but had not turned it on the night he shot Mojarrad, according to the police chief’s report on the shooting. The department’s policy says body cameras should be activated “as soon as feasible during all contacts involving actual or potential violations of the law,” The News & Observer previously reported.
According to the autopsy, Mojarrad was shot eight times in the chest, torso, pelvis and buttocks, The News & Observer previously reported.
Mojarrad’s death sparked protests at City Council meetings and led the police to change their body camera policy. The State Bureau of Investigation reviewed the shooting, normal procedure in such incidents, and District Attorney Lorrin Freeman found no evidence to support criminal charges.
A stolen cell phone
The lawsuit claims Mojarrad took a cell phone that was charging at a Sheetz gas station on New Bern Avenue in the moments leading up to the fatal shooting.
Edwards, whose shift had just begun, was at the gas station filling up his patrol car when a Sheetz employee and customer approached him about a stolen cell phone. At the same time, a Sheetz employee also called 911 about a trespasser at the location, according to 911 calls.
“The dispatcher said Mr. Mojarrad was unarmed and not violent,” the lawsuit states.
Mojarrad left the Sheetz, threw the cell phone into a nearby trash can at the shopping center behind the Sheetz and was smoking a cigarette on a bench outside Overtime Sports Pub, according to the lawsuit.
Per standard police procedure, the Police Department released a five-day report to the city manager outlining what happened during the shooting.
“Mr. Mojarrad repeatedly advanced towards Officer Edwards, despite numerous commands to stop and drop the knife,” the report said. “Each time he advanced, Officer Edwards fired his service weapon at him, while ordering him to stop. Mr. Mojarrad eventually fell to the ground, with the knife still in his right hand.”
The altercation took less than a minute, according to the report.
The lawsuit says Edwards was 20 feet from Mojarrad when he started firing at him and that Mojarrad didn’t have a knife in his hand at the time he was shot.
“A knife was recovered from the scene, located in his open right palm,” the lawsuit states. “However, the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory concluded that there was no DNA or fingerprint evidence on the knife indicating that the knife belonged to or had even been handled by Mr. Mojarrad.”
The autopsy included Mojarrad’s clothing and possessions as collected evidence, but a knife was not listed. However, a spokesperson for N.C. State Bureau of Investigation said a knife was seized as part of the investigation.
Mental illness history
Mojarrad’s family has discussed his mental illness history, and it’s repeated in the lawsuit.
In 2012, Mojarrad was hit by a vehicle in Asheville that caused a traumatic brain injury. The lawsuit and his family said he experienced “pronounced mental health issues” including heightened anxiety, fearfulness and memory loss. He also began experiencing seizures.
His mental health condition caused him to experience “abnormal, but nonviolent, behaviors” and he was “well-known” to the police department, according to the lawsuit.
Mojarrad had several misdemeanor arrests and a run-in with police before the April shooting. Months before he punched a Cary officer who tried to take him for a mental evaluation, The N&O previously reported.
His death has spurred activists to advocate for greater police accountability and, in some cases, disrupt Raleigh City Council meetings.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Family of man shot and killed by Raleigh police sues officer, the chief and city."
