Lawsuit brewing over death of Joshua Barre
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — The final chapter of his life has been seen over and over, captured on convenience store surveillance cameras, but it's what led up to that moment that's about to be the basis of a lawsuit.
"The family is really, really focused on getting justice for Joshua," said attorney Dan Smolen, his law firm notifying Tulsa County that legal action surrounding the death of Joshua Barre is imminent.
"We feel like the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office violated Mr. Barre's civil rights in the way that they handled him during the time that he was going through mental health court," he said.
For example, says Smolen, consider the actions deputies allegedly took towards Joshua on another occasion.
"The deputies were showing up shooting tasers at him through open windows and then leaving him, even though they had multiple court orders at that point in time to pick him up to take him in to get his injection medication for his schizophrenia," he said.
It's that manner of action Smolen says that created the dangerous situation that led to Joshua's death.
"The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, by their behaviors and the way that they dealt with Mr. Barre through that program, created a dangerous situation that led to an excessive use of force," he said.
"We have to look at this and say, 'He has mental health issues, and those things need to be addressed,' that the sheriff's department was clearly aware of," said social activist Marq Lewis, hoping the lawsuit can bring accountability.
"I think people have to look at this and say, 'He was sick, and sick people need a physician not a gun,'" he said.
