California suit, filed on behalf of black man’s daughters, alleges police fired 30 bullets into his car and shouted at him as he died

A new lawsuit claims that the California officers who killed Diante Yarber in a Walmart parking lot fired at least 10 bullets into the 26-year-old and shouted slurs and profanities before denying him medical aid as he bled to death inside a car.

The wrongful death suit, filed on behalf of Yarber’s three young daughters, alleges excessive force and civil rights violations and seeks to hold the city of Barstow accountable for allowing one of the involved officers to remain on the force, despite a previous hate crime case.

The complaint alleges police fired roughly 30 rounds into the car he was driving, hitting him in the chest, arms and back, and also hitting a female passenger in the leg and abdomen. The case comes at a time of renewed scrutiny of US police violence against black Americans, following the killing of 22-year-old Stephon Clark in his family’s backyard in Sacramento, California.

“There is no amount of money that can bring his soul back,” Ruby Hawkins, Yarber’s 40-year-old sister, said in an interview Thursday. “But they did not have to do what they did. I want them to pay, and my version of them paying is to send them where murderers go, because that’s what they did to my little brother.”

Diante Yarber: officer involved in killing was previously charged with hate crime Read more

The Yarber case sparked national backlash after it was revealed that a group of white police officers, who were responding to a call of a “suspicious” vehicle on the morning of 5 April, had fired a barrage of bullets into a vehicle with three African-American passengers and one Latino passenger inside.

Attorneys for Yarber’s family said he was unarmed, and police have not said they recovered any weapons from the car. The Guardian confirmed the names of the four involved officers on Monday, including Jimmie Alfred Walker, who was charged with a hate crime and battery in 2010 after he allegedly used racial slurs against a man and assaulted him and a woman while off duty. Records show he pleaded guilty to lesser offenses and was eventually allowed back on the force.

The suit says that when Yarber pulled into a parking space, at least three Barstow police units surrounded him, and he was unsure why they were trying to detain him. He attempted to comply and show his hands, but, according to the suit, the officers drew their weapons and began shouting profanities and violent threats.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A protest against police brutality in New York City. Photograph: Press/Sipa/Rex/Shutterstock

Fearing he and his passengers would be killed, Yarber attempted to “slowly” drive away, at which point the policemen “without warning” began firing the estimated 30 rounds into the car, the complaint alleges. Yarber tried to shield himself with his arm and was hit from behind, eventually choking as his lungs filled with blood, his lawyers wrote.

The officers never attempted to provide Yarber treatment and instead continued shouting commands at him while he was dying and unresponsive, according to the suit. Police also allegedly handcuffed the injured 23-year-old woman in the car.

The front-seat passenger further said he heard an officer use the N-word while threatening them, according to the suit.

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“When we think of police brutality and racism, we think of the south,” said Lee Merritt, an attorney for the family. “California has a really alarming rate of police-involved shootings, particularly of unarmed black men.”

The Barstow police captain, Andrew Espinoza, said in an email that an investigation and review of body-camera footage “found no evidence that the officers used any racial slurs or made any threats to the occupants of the vehicle”. He also said officers fired a total of 24 rounds, hitting Yarber 10 times. Police have not released any videos.

The department previously said that the officers “feared for their safety”, alleging that Yarber had “accelerated” the car, “almost hitting one officer”. Police have also alleged that Yarber was wanted in a stolen vehicle case, but his family said he was driving his cousin’s car, which was not reported stolen.

Hawkins said she was not surprised to learn of Walker’s past hate crime case, adding: “They are never held accountable for what they do.”

But her brother’s death, she said, has made her fearful about what she would do if she needed help from law enforcement: “The people who you felt are supposed to protect you are hurting you. It’s scary to know you have no one to call.”