SAN FRANCISCO - Wrongful death and excessive force charges were brought against San Mateo County and multiple San Mateo County affiliates in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to documents filed March 2.
The full list of defendants includes: San Mateo County, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Carlos G. Bolanos, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, District Attorney Stephen M. Wafstaffe, Deputy Sheriff David Dominguez, Deputy Sheriff John Baba, Deputy Sheriff James Goulart, the City of Half Moon Bay and 50 unidentified defendants.
Plaintiff Sarah Gatliff says her mentally ill mother, Sandra Lee Harmon, was shot eight times and killed in a confrontation with the law enforcement defendants in May 2020.
According to the suit, Harmon was walking the streets of Half Moon Bay with a shotgun and a bottle of wine. She was "warning people to be safe" in the "impending race war," and a concerned bystander called 911.
Harmon then entered an RV in a restaurant parking lot, which defendant Deputy Dominguez approached and ordered Harmon to exit, the suit says. After she complied while holding her shotgun, Dominguez allegedly fired three rounds at Harmon, who then began firing her shotgun, the suit says.
A shootout occurred in which the plaintiff says Harmon was shot multiple times while her back was to the deputies, the suit says. When Harmon reached for her shotgun, she was shot six more times, the suit says.
District attorney defendants are included in the suit for allegedly mishandling body camera footage and refusing to subpoena the company that records the footage.
The plaintiff is represented by the Law Office of David R. Bush.