Wrongful death claim filed against Pierce County Sheriff’s Department for 2018 fatal shooting
The family of a man fatally shot by a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy during an apparent mental breakdown is suing the department for $25 million.
A wrongful death claim was filed July 9 on behalf of 28-year-old William “Billy” Langfitt.
The law requires a claim for damages be filed 60 days prior to a lawsuit.
Langfitt’s girlfriend called 911 on March 16, 2018, and asked for help getting him to a hospital because he was suffering from a mental health emergency sparked by the recent loss of his job and his grandfather’s death.
When deputy Colby Edwards arrived at 252nd Street East and Mountain Highway East, he said Langfitt dove into the driver’s seat of his patrol car and Edwards opened fire because he was concerned about Langfitt gaining access to the rifle inside.
“He immediately drew his gun pointing it at someone that was in the middle of having a mental health episode,” said one of the Langfitt family’s attorneys, James Bible. “That’s not the sort of step you take when you want to de-escalate.”
Bible said Langfitt was shot in the back.
Langfitt died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office, which did not specify the location of the wounds.
He was clutching a photograph and letter about his deceased grandfather when he died.
Langfitt was not armed, and he was clad in socks, shorts and a T-shirt.
Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, said the department cannot comment on pending litigation.
The Prosecutor’s Office in November 2018 ruled the deputy’s shooting as justified and declined to press charges against Edwards.
“Deputy Edwards was forced to back away from his driver’s door and draw his firearm as he continued to back pedal toward the rear of his vehicle for safety and distance due to Langfitt’s irrational, erratic and aggressive behavior directed at Deputy Edwards,” former Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist wrote in a news release.
Bible disputes the deputy’s claim that Langfitt got into the patrol car.
He said Langfitt moved toward the patrol car and was shot by Edwards from behind and fell into the vehicle.
“The officer was never in danger. Billy never touched the officer. Billy didn’t have a weapon. There were no threatening statements made,” Bible said. “There was no attempt address the mental health issues that Billy was experiencing on that day. There was no counselor or mental health professional dispatched to assist Billy. There was one person with a gun and a badge.”
This was the second fatal shooting by Edwards in 11 months.
Edwards was one of five deputies who opened fire April 14, 2017, on a suspected carjacker who crashed a stolen vehicle in Frederickson and emerged from the burning wreckage holding a gun. Prosecutors ruled the shooting was justified.
Langfitt’s father, Bill Langfitt, said he’s hoping additional training can be given to law enforcement officers dealing with people suffering mental health episodes.
“We want to bring about reform. We’ve got to get police officers away from fear as a justification for killing somebody,” he said. “If the police officer had talked to him, this would have turned out entirely differently. The drawing of the gun needs to be the last resort, not the first resort.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 12:04 PM.
