COLUMBUS, Ohio— The family of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the Franklin County Courthouse in 2018 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit against Franklin County, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office was filed in federal court on Monday.
Authorities say Franklin County sheriff deputy Richard Scarborough fatally shot Joseph Haynes after an altercation broke out when he was escorting the boy and his mother from the courtroom.
A grand jury investigation led to no charges filed against Scarborough.
The attorneys for Haynes’s family say Scarborough “needlessly escalated the encounter using excessive force” that led to the death of Haynes.
The lawsuit claims the Franklin County Coroner determined the minor’s death a homicide but the Franklin County Sheriff chose to investigate their own deputy instead of having an independent investigator conduct an investigation.
The complaint also alleges the sheriff’s department does not train deputies to manage interactions with unarmed minors.
Attorney Dan Mordarski, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit says “They are dealing with children, not grown adults who have fully developed brains and mature abilities to control emotions.”
It is unknown when Franklin County will respond to this lawsuit.
