

Susan Barry was worried about her son’s behavior, so she called authorities to receive a medical evaluation. Instead of medical evaluation, however, her son John Barry, 33, received a pack of assassins. John suffers from schizophrenia, and when police arrived, he attempted to get into his car and drive away. Instead of de-escalate the situation by allowing the man to drive away, officers began escalating violence. Barry had done nothing wrong. He was only attempting to get away from what he likely perceived as a nightmarish threat when he was met with pepper spray, tasers, and baton blows. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies claim that Barry rammed them with his car. However, his vehicle was clearly free of front end damage that would have resulted from ramming a car. According to deputies, the tasers, pepper spray, and baton strikes weren’t working, which is likely due to the fact that Barry suffers from schizophrenia. When Barry attempted to put his car in reverse, multiple deputies pulled out their guns. Deputies proceeded to unleash a fury of bullets into Barry’s front windshield. He was struck multiple times and died on the scene. We agonize because we try to understand, and there’s no possible way to understand what happened,” Susan Barry said. Deputies claim that Barry pinned one of the officers between his car and an adjacent sheriff’s vehicle resulting in that deputy be taken to the hospital with lacerations and bruising. But the family claims that this is not true. The Barry family has since filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, hoping their case will change policy and require more training. “I just wish they had better training. He didn’t hurt anybody. He didn’t do anything that day,” sister Melissa Barry said. Even if Barry did pin one of the officers behind his car, the lack of training and subsequent violent escalation by police against a mentally ill man was undoubtedl

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