Gwinnett County and one of its police officers are named in lawsuits stemming from a fatal 2022 shooting.
Retired nurse Deborah Laubscher dialed 911 when her 28-year-old, Jonathan “Dani” Laubscher, who had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, was experiencing a mental health episode. A responding officer fatally fired after being “lunged” at with a knife, the GBI stated at the time.
The GBI investigated the April 30, 2022 incident and handed the case to Gwinnett DA Patsy Austin-Gatson, whose office “determined that there was no criminal conduct related to the actions of the above-named officer,” according to a letter she sent following the incident.
Deborah and Robert Laubscher say Dani Laubscher was holding a pink pocket knife and had not threatened anyone with it before being repeatedly tased, then shot by responding officer Kevin Mendez.
“Before he shot Dani, Mendez thwarted others’ attempts to protect Dani from potential self-harm, including by physically preventing others’ use of nonviolent interventions and de-escalation techniques,” the lawsuit filed against Mendez states. “Mendez gave contradictory commands, disregarded written policy, and physically prevented others from making the situation safer.”
Mendez, who could not immediately be reached for comment, faces civil claims of battery, breach of duty and infliction of emotional distress. He has yet to officially respond to the lawsuit filed April 8 in DeKalb County State Court, case records show. Mendez was not charged in relation to the shooting.
The Gwinnett County Police Department said Mendez, who was hired in January 2020, was exonerated in an internal investigation and remains an employee. It said all staff are provided with annual mental illness training.
“We continue to adhere to the most updated evidence-based treatment and field-tested protocols for law enforcement in dealing with persons with mental health crises,” the department told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “In 2021, GCPD established the Behavioral Health Unit, which is a partnership between the police department and View Point Health. The unit is aimed at collaborating police and mental health services.”
The county declined to comment specifically on the April 30 lawsuit it faces in the federal trial court in Atlanta. Deborah and Robert Laubscher accused the county of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.
“Gwinnett County unlawfully discriminated against Dani Laubscher based on mental illness in egregious and overlapping ways that led to their needless and tragic death,” the complaint states. “(The county’s) failures ensured that the worst-case scenario came to pass.”
The GBI said Thursday that it handed the case file to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office in January 2023 and received a letter back from the DA “declining to prosecute” two months later.
In their lawsuits, the Laubschers allege that the county systemically failed to properly handle mental health incidents, allow for the appropriate medical response and train officers in crisis intervention. They said a mental health crisis unit was requested on April 30, 2022, but that police and fire officers were dispatched instead.
The Laubschers said the U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly found that municipalities violate federal law by primarily sending police to mental health emergencies, and that Gwinnett leaders knew of, but ignored, those findings. The county is aware that its resources for dealing with mental health incidents are “woefully inadequate,” the couple alleged.
They said Mendez, who had no mental health, medical or crisis intervention training, ignored advice from other responding officers who warned against tasing or shooting Dani Laubscher. Mendez made the situation worse by pointing his gun at the 28-year-old and yelling that he would shoot, the Laubschers claimed.
“Dani was killed as a result of Mendez’s unlawful use of force,” they said. “Mendez’s conduct was the opposite of the guidelines in the Gwinnett County Police Department’s policy on interacting with persons suffering from mental health issues.”
The Laubschers want unspecified damages and attorney fees.
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