Attorneys for the family of a teen boy armed with a knife who was shot and killed in an altercation with Santa Ana police announced Tuesday the filing of a legal claim against the city.
A claim is usually a precursor to a lawsuit. NBCLA has reached out to the city of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Police Department for a statement.
The claim is based on negligence and a failure to de-escalate the situation, an attorney for the family said. Family members said the teen was suffering a mental health crisis.
The police shooting unfolded at about 10:30 p.m. June 14 after officers responded to the 34000 block of South Main Street after a report of a family disturbance. The caller said his girlfriend’s 16-year-old son stabbed him with a knife, police said. The caller also stated the teen was under the influence and damaging property in the apartment.
“Upon arrival, officers contacted the suspect, who remained armed with the knife,” police said in a statement. “During the encounter, an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
The teen died at the scene. No officers were injured.
“He was a loving child,” mother Marybelle Michaca said at a Tuesday news conference about the legal claim. “He had plans. He had a future.
“We need to have officers being more trained in the mental health issue because that is the reality.”
The boy’s mother said the June 14 response was not law enforcement’s first visit to the home for a matter involving her son.
The Santa Ana Police Department Homicide Unit, the agency’s Internal Affairs Division, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the shooting.