Daughter Of Woman Shot By Police Sues City For $15 Million

The daughter of a woman on Dec. 29 has filed a $15 million federal lawsuit against San Leandro and two of its officers, alleging they used unreasonable force in taking her life.

The suit revolves around Gwendolyn Killings, a 39-year-old Hayward woman, who was shot after she crashed on Bancroft Avenue near 109th Street while driving what police said was a stolen Jaguar.

At the time, was revving up the car while one officer detained a male passenger who had jumped out of the vehicle and tried to run away.

Police Department spokesman Lt. Jeff Tudor the second officer fired because he thought Killings was going to back up into his partner and the man being placed under arrest.

Tudor said the car's tires were smoking.

But a different version of events was offered in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Oakland on behalf of one of Killings' daughters, Ericka Whitmeyer.

The suit says Killings "was unconscious or otherwise immobilized . . . (and) . . . posed no threat of harm" when one of the two officers "discharged 8-9 rounds into the decedent's vehicle, killing her."

In addition to suing the city, the suit names the two officers, Anthony Morgan and Ryan Gill, and charges them with individual wrongdoing and liability.

The suit does not say which of the two officers fired the shots.

Gill was named San Leandro police officer of the year in the spring.

At the time, neighbors who witnessed the incident of Killings' actions after the car crashed.

One neighbor said it appeared that Killings had tried to put the car in reverse before being shot.

Another said Killings had not tried to harm the officers and they never really gave her a chance before firing.

A Patch profile of Killings published shortly after she was shot described her as the mother of four children and spoke of drug use and a prior criminal record.

But the lawsuit says police had no reasonable cause to detain or arrest Killings much less "cause her to suffer death."

The suit goes on to charge the city "failed to adequately train its police officers," particularly the two in question, and took no action against them for their wrongful use of force, thus endorsing their actions.

The suit says "decedent's minor daughter has been deprived of a kind and loving parent," and seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.