Scout Schultz was fatally shot in the heart by a Georgia Tech police officer inadequately trained to deal with the mentally ill and unequipped with non-lethal options, lawyers for the student’s parents said Thursday.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday against Tech, the state Board of Regents and Tyler Beck, the officer who killed Schultz, alleges the shooting could have been averted had Beck received crisis intervention training.
“It was preventable,” said Chris Stewart, one of the attorneys representing Bill and Lynne Schultz. “The other officers backed away and showed techniques of de-escalation.”
Beck stood his ground, shooting the 21-year-old armed only with a multi-purpose tool. None of the officers on the scene were provided Tasers, which, when used with restraint, do not represent deadly force.
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On Sept. 16, 2017, Schultz called 911 to report a suspicious person — who fit Schultz’s description — lurking on campus. The lawsuit does not deny that the Lilburn native, who led Tech’s Pride Alliance, had sought to commit suicide. (Schultz did not identify as either male or female.)
A GBI investigation into the shooting found Schultz left behind three suicide notes. Schultz’s mother told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Schultz had attempted suicide two years earlier and had battled nearly lifelong depression.
But the family’s lawyers say Schultz’s desire to die does not absolve the officer who fired the fatal bullet.
“There is no such thing as a suicide by police officers,” Stewart said. “They are the professionals. Their jobs are to de-escalate.”
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard will decide whether Beck should face criminal charges. Howard’s spokesman, Chris Hopper, said Thursday the case remains under investigation, about 21 months after the GBI turned over its findings to Fulton’s chief prosecutor.
Beck, who had been placed on paid administrative leave, rejoined Tech police upon conclusion of the GBI probe.
In a statement, attorneys Jeff Brickman and Noah Pines, who represent Beck in the ongoing investigation into the shootings, said “all evidence shows that Tyler’s actions were legally justified and he is therefore immune from prosecution under Georgia law.”
A Georgia Tech spokeswoman declined comment Wednesday, saying the school does not discuss pending litigation. Stewart credited Tech for making significant changes since Schultz’s death. The university’s LGBTQIA Resource Center (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) was expanded and more money was earmarked for mental health and wellness initiatives. Tasers are now carried by all Tech officers, and crisis intervention training has become standard practice.
“It shouldn’t have taken a death for Georgia Tech to make those changes,” Stewart said.
Beck was 23 at the time of the shooting and was one of four officers dispatched to a parking deck on the west side of campus, where Schultz was waiting, dressed as the suspicious person Schultz had described to 911.
In a video capturing the confrontation, a barefoot Schultz can be heard telling the officers, “Shoot me!” while ignoring officers’ commands to drop a pocket knife and stand in place. As Schultz continued to progress, slowly, toward the officers, Beck, located roughly 20 feet away, fired his gun, striking Schultz in the chest. He was the only officer to discharge his weapon.
Attorney Brian Spears, who also represents the Schultzes, said inadequate training and the absence of Tasers do not absolve Beck.
“No use of force would’ve been justified by this officer or any other,” Spears said, arguing that Schultz didn’t pose a threat to other people.
Bill Schultz said his oldest child’s death left his daughter “basically disconsolate,” confined to her room.
“Their potential was limitless,” Schultz said. “Tyler Beck killed my kid. That’s the bottom line.”
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