Andy Lopez Rulings: Sonoma Co. To Seek U.S. Supreme Court Review

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Counsel's Office will ask the nation's top court to review an appellate court's decision in the civil rights lawsuit regarding the fatal shooting of teen Andy Lopez by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in September upheld a decision in U.S. District Court that rejected the county's assertion that Deputy Erick Gelhaus was justified and acted in self-defense when he fatally shot the 13-year-old Lopez in October 2013 at a vacant lot on Moorland Avenue southwest of Santa Rosa.

Lopez was carrying a BB pellet rifle that resembled an AK-47. The Sonoma County sheriff's and district attorney's offices maintain Gelhaus thought the gun was real and he shot Lopez seven times when the barrel of the gun rose upward as Lopez turned toward the deputy.

Lopez died at the scene and his family filed a civil rights violation and an excessive use of force law civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oakland.

Sonoma County wants the U.S. Supreme Court to agree to hear its appeal of the two lower court rulings. County officials have until April 2 to file legal papers before the top court, according to Noah Blechman, an attorney with a Pleasant Hill law firm that is representing Sonoma County.

Blechman said today the appeal is of national importance and the top court's refusal to hear the case or a denial of the appeals "have far reaching implications for law enforcement organizations in the country."

"They (the 9th Circuit Court) are saying if a person who turns toward a law enforcement officer as the barrel of the weapon starts to rise, that officer can't use deadly force and if he does there is no qualified immunity for officers on duty contrary to law enforcement standards. The county feels strongly this deputy is entitled to qualified immunity," Blechman said.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to reject the county's appeal. Judge J. Clifford Wallace issued a lengthy dissent in Gelhaus' favor.

The fatal shooting led to protests and marchesin the county. Lopez family supporters said Gelhaus didn't identify himself as a sheriff's deputy and either failed to warn Lopez he would shoot or the teen couldn't hear the deputy and turned toward him to do so.

By Bay City News Service

Photo: An image of Andy Lopez is surrounded by candles on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, in Santa Rosa, Calif. Hundreds of people have gathered in Santa Rosa to protest the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy by a California sheriff's deputy. Andy Lopez was shot by a Sonoma County deputy last week after authorities say the deputy mistook a pellet gun Lopez was carrying for an assault rifle. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)