Widow Of Afghanistan Veteran Shot By Police Files Lawsuit

Widow files lawsuit against MPD
Casa Grande Dispatch
Brian Wright
March 1, 2016

Veteran killed by officers during incident in 2015

Johnathan Guillory, 32, a military veteran killed by Maricopa

police in January 2015, poses with his wife, Maria Garcia.

MARICOPA — The community was shaken when Johnathan Guillory, a military combat veteran, was shot and killed by Maricopa police officers in the Cobblestone Farms subdivision Jan. 18, 2015.

Now the community will have to revisit the events surrounding that day, as Guillory’s wife, Maria Garcia, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Maricopa alleging wrongful death, negligence, excessive force, false imprisonment, and assault and battery.

Scottsdale attorney David Lunn, representing Guillory’s estate, said the lawsuit was filed in federal court as opposed to state court because it claims civil rights were violated, which would constitute federal violations.

Guillory, 32, was an Army veteran who served two combat tours in Afghanistan, returning from his second in 2003.

Reports from the Maricopa Police Department indicate Guillory, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was having increasingly heated confrontations with police in the days and weeks leading up to the fatal shooting.

On Jan. 13, five days before the shooting, MPD Detective Michael Burns sent out an email warning officers to be careful when dealing with Guillory. He described an incident Guillory had with officers the previous night.
read more here

This is from the original report by AZ Family.com. The link to them is not working now but link to Wounded Times is still active. Arizona Iraq Veteran Killed By Police

Garcia says her husband proactively sought help for his condition.

"He saw therapists, and was on the phone constantly with suicide hotlines," she says.

Guillory's widow says he went to the VA hospital, where he reported he was having a mental health emergency.

"They turned him away. They told him there was no room, and that he'd have to make an appointment," she recalls.