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City, CMPD Officers Sued Over Fatal 2017 Police Shooting

CMPD

It’s been almost two years since Rubin Galindo was shot and killed by police. On the night of Sept. 6, 2017, Galindo had called 911 stating he had a gun with no bullets and wanted officers to come to his home.

A state lawsuit filed this week says Galindo, 29, never should have been shot while trying to surrender his weapon to officers.

Former Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray decided not to pursue charges against the two CMPD officers involved. Murray said that officer David Guerra, who fatally shot Rubin Galindo, and officer Courtney Suggs, who fired his weapon but did not strike Galindo, perceived a lethal threat and that the shooting was justified.

But a lawsuit filed Wednesday says otherwise. It lists Galindo’s longtime partner and executor of his estate, Azucena Zamorano, as the plaintiff. The city of Charlotte and two officers are listed as defendants.

One of the key points in the lawsuit focuses on training. The lawsuit states, “the city was negligent in training Officer Guerra in the proper procedures for responding to an incident such as this.”

The lawsuit states Galindo had suffered from mental illness and that there was a language barrier when Galindo was ordered to quote “drop the gun” in English. The suit states: “Defendant Guerra did not know how to say the command in Spanish. He also knew that the decedent did not speak English.”

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages and asks for a jury trial.

Galindo Lawsuit

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.