Family of suicidal Roy man killed in SWAT standoff files lawsuit against police
CSI and Roy officers at the scene of an officer-involved shooting that happened Tuesday morning. The original call to 911 of a disturbance came at 4 a.m. in the area of 3570 W. 5300 South, Roy, said Roy Police Detective Matthew Gwynn.
CSI and Roy officers at the scene of an officer-involved shooting that happened Tuesday morning. The original call to 911 of a disturbance came at 4 a.m. in the area of 3570 W. 5300 South, Roy, said Roy Police Detective Matthew Gwynn.
SALT LAKE CITY — Relatives of a 35-year-old Roy man who was fatally shot during a police standoff have filed a federal lawsuit against law enforcement involved in the incident.
Maria Calzada, widow of Jose Calzada, and his mother, Manuela Rosales, both of Roy, accuse the Roy Police Department and Weber County Sheriff’s Office of violating the man’s civil rights by illegally entering his home, using excessive force and wrongfully causing his death.
The case was filed Dec. 6, 2016, in U.S. District Court.
Calzada called a suicide hotline Oct. 21, 2014, saying he was armed and wanted to kill himself. Officers responded to the scene, putting a SWAT team on standby because Calzada said he had weapons.
In police reports obtained by the Standard-Examiner in June 2016, investigators say Calzada warned police not to come into his home. He said if they did, he would be “locked and loaded,” the reports say.
When police lost contact with Calzada after hours of negotiations, Ogden Metro SWAT Team commanders sent officers in to search the house. Eventually, officers found Calzada lying in the trunk of a car with guns, police reports say.
Calzada had a handgun pointed into his mouth, and a rifle was near his head. Upon finding Calzada, officers ordered him to put down the handgun and keep his hands away from the rifle, police reports say. After Calzada moved, three officers fired their weapons, investigators said.
An autopsy report shows Calzada suffered 22 gunshot wounds during the incident, which followed a more than six-hour standoff. Investigators later determined Calzada’s weapons weren’t loaded.
The lawsuit claims Calzada fell asleep in the trunk of his car after consuming most of a large bottle of whiskey.
“Jose had not broken any law, had threatened no one and was of no danger to anyone other than himself,” the suit says. It contends a SWAT negotiator “repeatedly reassured Jose that he had done nothing wrong and that law enforcement would not enter his home.”
RELATED: Investigation clears SWAT officers in suicidal Roy man’s death in 2014
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Mark Shenefelt
A diagram from crime scene investigators illustrates where Jose Calzada, 35, was shot to death by Ogden Metro SWAT Team members on Oct. 21, 2014. Calzada was hiding in a Honda’s trunk and had a Ruger pistol, as well as an AR-15 assault rifle. Neither gun was loaded. Investigators said Calzada pointed the guns, and officers fired 11 rounds at him.
Despite a county attorney’s review that found the shooting was justified, the lawsuit says police “had no valid reason for entering Jose’s home. It is not illegal to consume alcohol in one’s home, to possess firearms in one’s home, or to go to sleep in one’s home.”
The suit says police did not have a search warrant. “Jose had a constitutional right to have firearms (and) had a constitutional right to stay in his home without fear of police searching it,” it says.
Calzada had not broken any law by threatening to kill himself and had been asleep for nearly two hours when officers came into the house and shot him, the suit says.
“The situation was escalated by law enforcement by illegally entering and searching Jose’s home and vehicles, and upon finding him in a dazed and drunken stupor began shouting at Jose with their guns drawn,” the suit says. “Thus, the officers’ illegal entry and search of Jose’s home had escalated the situation beyond what was necessary and turned the situation into a life or death one.”
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Kathleen Duncan/Standard-Examiner
Detective Gwynn speaks at the scene of an officer-involved shooting that happened Tuesday morning. The deceased is a 35-year-old man who lived at the home.
The suit contends Calzada’s movement of his hands above his head was placing them “in a resting position.” Investigators said in reports that SWAT officers interpreted the movement as a potentially aggressive motion, and the rifle’s muzzle was pointed at one officer.
The suit says officers “acted in concert to hunt down and kill Jose. They were primed and ready for action.”
The suit names as defendants Roy City, Weber County, the three officers who fired shots and several other SWAT team members. The SWAT team is made up of officers from around the county — primarily from Ogden City, the sheriff’s office and Roy.
The officers who fired shots were employed by Ogden, Roy and Weber County.
Efforts were unsuccessful Friday to contact the Calzada relatives’ attorney, Weber County Attorney Chris Allred and Roy City Attorney Andy Blackburn.
You can reach reporter Mark Shenefelt at mshenefelt@standard.net or 801 625-4224. Follow him on Twitter at @mshenefelt and like him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SEmarkshenefelt.