Pueblo County responds to lawsuit against sheriff deputy for fatal shooting in school parking lot

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Attorneys representing Pueblo County Sheriff deputies involved in a fatal shooting responded to an excessive use of force lawsuit, claiming the victim’s own actions led to his death.

In February 2022, Richard Ward was shot three times by Pueblo County Sheriff Deputy Charles McWhorter in the Liberty Point International Middle School parking lot in Pueblo West.

According to his family, Ward was waiting to pick up his brother, sitting in the back seat of his family's SUV. His family's attorneys said he got out to stretch his legs and smoke a cigarette. When he returned, they say he accidentally got into another person's car. Someone called 911 on Ward. When deputies, including McWhorter, arrived on the scene Ward was in the backseat of his mother's SUV.

In the body cam video, Ward tells McWhorter cops to make him "nervous" and that he "has anxiety".

Ward explains to the deputies that he had bad encounters with police in Pueblo before. McWhorter then asks for Ward's ID and as he reaches for his identification, Ward slips something in his mouth. His family attorneys said Ward had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and was prescribed medicine for it.

In the body cam video, McWhorter then demands to know what it is and drags Ward to the ground. McWhorter struggles with Ward on the ground for around 20 seconds. During this time, deputies told him to "stop resisting" multiple times.

McWhorter then shot Ward three times. Ward was unarmed.

The body cam footage shows both deputies on the scene not providing medical aid to Ward for nearly three minutes. He died on the scene.

Ward’s family filed a federal lawsuit against Pueblo County and seven members of the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, claiming deputies used excessive force against Ward.

“He might be doing something improper or he wasn't told to take a pill,” said Darold Killmer, the attorney representing the Ward family. “But it certainly doesn't justify pulling him out, pulling his gun, and shooting him in the chest.”

On Friday, the Pueblo County Sheriff's deputies responded to the lawsuit and filed an answer to the Ward Family’s complaint. It said Ward’s own actions led to his death.

“Richard Ward assumed the risk of his own conduct, which ultimately led to Plaintiffs’ claimed damages,” the court document states.

Killmer said Ward did nothing to be shot dead.

“What is it that Richard Ward did to cause his own death? Nothing,” Killmer said. “He was sitting there answering questions, looking for his ID. He was unarmed. He was compliant. And he was dead within a minute.”

The response to the lawsuit goes on to say the deputies acted in good faith, no improper acts were committed and the deputy's actions were “taken in the defense of themselves or others.” The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to requests for comment about the recent lawsuit filing.

This is the same argument McWhorter made during the CIT (Critical Incident Team) investigation. 13 Investigates obtained video of McWhorter’s interview with investigating officers. He said he feared for his life when he engaged in a physical struggle with Ward.

McWorter, who had been employed by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office for eight years, claimed he pulled Ward from the vehicle to "get him into cuffs" and "pat him down" to ensure that he wasn't a threat to anyone else. After Ward was removed from the car, deputy McWorter told detectives that the "fight was on."

After struggling with Ward, the deputy said felt like something was being messed with on his gun side. He said because of his police training, he had to make sure his gun was secure. At that point, he said Ward "head-butted me in the nose," which he says caused his eyes to water and he started to "see stars."

McWorter told detectives he was in fear that Ward was going to grab his gun or "knock me unconscious," or that his neck was going to give out on him.

At this point, he tells detectives that he felt he needed to "stop the threat" that was in front of him. He said he believed he only fired two bullets from his pistol into Ward but said that he wasn't entirely sure.

“There's still no justification for it,” Killmer said. “It's illegal. It's actually murder.”

However, the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office ruled the shooting justified after their investigators reviewed the entire nearly two-hour-long interview with McWorter and his partner, Deputy Gonzales. They also conducted interviews with several people on the scene that day, including a parent of a child at the middle school.

“The district attorney circled its wagons and supported the law enforcement officer, despite the overwhelming evidence that this was an unjustified shooting,” Killmer said.