Utah Personal Injury Attorneys Win Motion in Deadly Police Shooting Lawsuit

LeBaron & Jensen, personal injury attorneys, successfully argued at a hearing that the police shooting case represented issues that precluded the court from dismissing the claims and that Mr. Calzada’s wife and mother were entitled to their day in court by a jury.

Layton, United States - February 5, 2018 /PressCable/ —

LeBaron & Jensen represents the wife and mother of Jose Calzada, a United States citizen and military veteran, who was killed in his home by law enforcement officers several hours after Mr. Calzada called a suicide hotline seeking help because he was struggling with suicidal thoughts brought on, in part, because of his post-traumatic stress disorder. Law enforcement officers arrived at Mr. Calzada’s home and began negotiating with him for several hours. The officers repeatedly reassured Mr. Calzada and the other officers that Mr. Calzada had down nothing wrong and that he had threatened no one, not even the police, and that they would not enter Mr. Calzada’s home by surprise without him knowing it.

After more the officers had been on the scene for more than four and a half hours, Mr. Calzada was no longer threatening suicide and had calmed down to the point that he informed the officers that he was tired and was going to sleep. An hour and a half after last speaking with Mr. Calzada, a SWAT team, with guns drawn, stealthily entered Mr. Calzada’s home and began searching for Mr. Calzada. When the officers located Mr. Calzada he was lying on his back with his hands behind his head. Mr. Calzada never said a word after being found, did not threaten the officers, and did not even try to sit up. Nevertheless, law enforcement officers opened fire on Mr. Calzada and killed him. The autopsy revealed that Mr. Calzada had been shot at least 21 times.

LeBaron & Jensen filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah seeking damages for the unconstitutional search of Mr. Calzada’s home and the resulting unconstitutional shooting of Mr. Calzada.

The Defendants then filed a motion seeking judgment on the pleadings which, if successful, would have dismissed the claims for the unconstitutional search which ultimately resulted in the officers’ finding and killing Mr. Calzada.

At the hearing on the motion the federal judge noted that many of these similar claims are dismissed early on in the cases on the grounds that the law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity and that the officers are entitled to enter a home if there are exigent circumstances.

Mile LeBaron and Melinda Checketts Hibbert, personal injury attorneys with LeBaron & Jensen, successfully argued at the hearing on the motion that this case represented several unique and significant factual issues that precluded the court from dismissing the claims and that Mr. Calzada’s wife and mother were entitled to their day in court and to have their claims decided by a jury.

LeBaron & Jensen invites all those who have suffered civil rights violations and other personal injuries to call their office for a complementary case review.

Contact Info:
Name: Tyler Jensen
Email: [email protected]
Organization: LeBaron & Jensen
Address: 476 Heritage Park Blvd. #230, Layton, UT 84041, United States
Phone: +1-801-773-9488

For more information, please visit http://www.LeBaronJensen.com

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 295522