The family of a Black man shot dead by an Orange County sheriff?s deputy in San Clemente in an encounter captured on video sued the county on Thursday, alleging the death was a result of a homeless detail that disproportionately targets people of color and is ill-equipped to deal with mental illness.
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Keith Reinhold, a well-educated, youth soccer coach and father of two, died Sept. 23 after two deputies approached him on a San Clemente thoroughfare as he walked in the street, tried to stop him, tackled him to the ground and then one of them shot him twice. A bystander captured on a cellphone video the deadly encounter, which spurred protests and arrests of activists.
The lawsuit on behalf of his wife, Latoya Reinhold, his children and his mother, Judy Reinhold Tucker, accuses the deputies of using deadly force on an unarmed man who ?never posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury,? and that Reinhold, who been sleeping outside in the area, was harassed by the deputies.
?The Reinhold family is frustrated by the Department?s complete lack of transparency,? said John Taylor, lead attorney for the family. ?The Department and Sheriff Don Barnes still have not provided an explanation as to why these deputies were interacting with Kurt in the first place, and despite multiple requests, the Department has failed to turn over their investigative reports relating to the shooting.?
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