May 22, 2018 - 10:45 AM
TULSA, Okla. - Relatives say Tulsa sheriff's deputies "did nothing" to help a man who was suffering a psychotic episode when they fatally shot him.
The mother of 29-year-old Joshua Barre filed a federal lawsuit Monday accusing the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office of negligence in his death.
Deputies say they were conducting a mental health check on Barre June 9, but had to shoot him when he approached a convenience store carrying two large knives. Deputies say they had tried to convince him to drop the knives.
Sheriff Vic Regalado has said deputies tried using a Taser before firing.
The lawsuit says deputies failed to help Barre by not assisting him with his "dangerous state of acute psychosis."
Barre's mother says he had stopped taking medication for bipolar disorder months before his death.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018