A Colorado sheriff’s office has given one of its deputies a medal after he fatally shot a man who mistakenly tried to get into the wrong car while picking his brother up from a local middle school.
Charles McWhorter earned the Pueblo county sheriff’s office’s purple heart award for purportedly enduring injuries to his nose, forefinger, back, knee and neck as he shot Richard Ward three times at close range and killed him on 22 February 2022. McWhorter received the purple heart medal during a sheriff’s office award ceremony on 17 February, four days before Ward’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against him and his agency.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed to the local Pueblo Chieftain newspaper that McWhorter’s purple heart honored his actions on the day he shot the 32-year-old Ward to death. The spokesperson then reportedly told the Chieftain that the sheriff, David Lucero, would not discuss the decision to honor McWhorter because of the pending litigation.
Meanwhile, in statements obtained by the Washington Post, Ward’s mother and the attorney representing his family expressed outrage at the slain man’s treatment by the Pueblo sheriff’s office.
“This was nothing short of state-sanctioned murder of a citizen who should not have been arrested, let alone killed in broad daylight,” the Ward family’s attorney, Darold Killmer, said in a statement.
A statement attributed to Ward’s mother, Kristy Ward Stamp, added: “My heart is broken. I have no words to explain this to Richard’s little brother. Our family has been ripped apart.”
The Chieftain reported that the sheriff’s office’s website is no longer listing McWhorter as a recipient of the award after the agency spokesperson said the deputy had been receiving “targeted threats”. The spokesperson didn’t elaborate, according to the Chieftain.
Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/25/colorado-sheriff-office-purple-heart-officer-shot-richard-ward