SALT LAKE CITY UT June 27 2018— The mother of a man who police say shot and killed by a security guard outside a state government building filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming her son’s civil rights were violated.

“I think it was totally wrong. I just couldn’t believe what happened that day. I’m still in shock over it. That they pull a gun out and shoot somebody in the back,” said Connie Elison. “I just want justice.”

About 5:25 a.m. on June 20, Thomas Ray Stanfield, 54, was shot twice from behind as he tried to walk away from a security guard near the plaza area between the Heber Wells and Department of Workforce Services buildings, on 300 South between 140 East and 160 East, according to Salt Lake police.

Timothy Richard Lutes, 26, who works for Citadel Security, was arrested. Hours after the lawsuit was filed, Lutes was charged in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony.

The lawsuit was filed by Salt Lake civil rights attorney Robert Sykes on behalf of Elison, who is heir to her son’s estate. She was accompanied by Stanfield’s brother, Grant Stanfield, as she addressed the media Tuesday.

Sykes said not only were Lutes’ actions “extremely negligent,” but so were the actions of Citadel Security, which he claims hired Lutes but failed to properly train him.

“It’s unbelievable that Mr. Lutes would pull a gun on somebody who was simply, let’s say napping, sleeping in a public place, not causing any harm. And kill him. Shoot him in the back. We believe that is extremely negligent,” he said. “What we know about Mr. Lutes is he had a number of problems. We don’t think you should hire someone who has a lot of problems, give him a gun and post him at a place where he can interact with the public.”

When asked to explain what he meant by “a lot of problems,” Sykes would not elaborate Tuesday, but said he believes Lutes provoked a fight with Stanfield.

“We believe that this man was probably not vetted completely and should not have been hired and given a gun. A lot of people shouldn’t have guns, and this is one of them,” he said.

Security guards do not have to be certified as police officers do. But there are licensing requirements they have to meet through the Utah Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing. According to the department’s website, Lutes was licensed to be an unarmed security guard in 2015, then became licensed to be an armed security guard in November.

Stanfield’s family admits that Thomas Stanfield had many struggles during his life, including a long battle with drug addiction. But Grant Stanfield said his brother told him about four weeks ago that he was going to make another effort to get his life back on track.

“The last conversation I had with him was exactly that. He was trying to get his life together. He needed some help to do that,” he said.

Stanfield was staying at the Road Home shelter, according to his brother. Family members believe his goal on the morning of June 20 was to be first in line when the Department of Workforce Services opened so he could try to find a job, even if that meant showing up 2 ½ hours before it opened.

“He was trying to find employment that’s offered through state agencies to people who are struggling, who are homeless. And he was energized. And it doesn’t surprise me he was down there at the time,” Grant Stanfield said.

A spokeswoman with Workforce Services clarified Tuesday that the downtown office does not offer job placement services. It was not known if Thomas Stanfield was aware of that.

Police say Lutes spotted Stanfield “underneath the covered area of the southeast corner” of the Workforce Services building and kept shining his flashlight on Stanfield, which apparently aggravated him.

Lutes put his flashlight in “strobe mode” and kept it on Stanfield’s face even after Stanfield stood up and started moving, according to charging documents filed Tuesday.

“Mr. Stanfield then physically attacks Lutes,” the charges state.

The two ended up getting into a fistfight, which lasted several minutes. In his mug shot, Lutes has obvious injuries to his face, including a black eye and cut nose. Lutes claimed Stanfield took his holster and pointed his own firearm at him, a Salt Lake County Jail report states.

But Sykes said surveillance video viewed by police proved that to be false, and Stanfield had actually tried to walk away a couple of times. Lutes, however, kept engaging him, he said.

“Lutes is seen chasing after Mr. Stanfield and re-engaging him each time. At one point, Lutes knocks Mr. Stanfield to the ground and punches him several times while he is on the ground,” according to the charges.

When Stanfield stands up, he “throws Lutes’ empty gun holster to the ground and again walks away,” the charges state. “Lutes is then seen standing up and appears to take aim at Mr. Stanfield’s back while Mr. Stanfield is walking away. Three muzzle flashes are seen before Mr. Stanfield falls to the ground.”

Lutes then called 911 to report that he had been attacked by a man who tried to take his gun, investigators wrote in the charging documents.

Bail for Lutes was set Tuesday at $1 million.

Grant Stanfield, who is an admissions officer with the University of Utah and a retired colonel from the U.S. Army with 22 years of military service, said people with guns need proper training. And he doesn’t believe Lutes had that.

“They need to understand the rules of engagement,” he said.

Likewise, Elison, who owns a gun, said she is in favor of gun rights.

“I feel I have a gun in case I need safety in my home. And so I’m not against guns. I think people should have guns that know how to use them,” she said.

But what happened to her son, she said, was wrong. Elison said there’s a “big difference” between protection and “shooting somebody in the back as they walk away.”

Sykes admitted on Tuesday that he had not seen the surveillance video that purportedly shows Thomas Stanfield being shot in the back. And much of his lawsuit is based on police and media reports, he said. When asked why he agreed to file a lawsuit so quickly — even before criminal charges were filed — Sykes and the family said it was in part to preempt another wrongful death suit anticipated by another family member.

Immediately after the shooting, Michelle Higgins made several posts on social media and set up a vigil in front of the Workforce Services building calling for justice for her father.

Elison said Higgins is Thomas Stanfield’s biological daughter. But she was placed for adoption to Stanfield’s sister when she was 4. Elison said there was a period of about 10 years when Higgins wanted nothing to do with her biological father.

But Sykes said Higgins recently filed documents in court in an attempt to lay claim to be the heir to Stanfield’s estate. He said he and Elison plan to file their own court papers to challenge that.

When asked why Higgins filed a claim to be heir, Elison said she didn’t know.

“I love her as much as I did Tom. And it’s been hard on all of us,” she said.

Desert News

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