Lawyers representing family members of a California grandmother who was fatally shot by police in February after she backed her car into a police vehicle accused the department of excessive force this week.
Tracy Gaeta, 54, died after a K-9 officer identified by police officials as Kyle Ribera fired more than two dozen shots into her car on Feb. 22, according to police and body camera footage released this month.
“Like too many Black women across this country, Tracy Gaeta is yet another victim of preventable police violence,” Angelina Austin, an attorney at the firm representing Gaeta’s family, said in a statement this week.
The incident began when a driver later identified as Gaeta struck another police officer’s car while it was stopped at a red light and drove off, the Stockton Police Department said in a video statement released this month. The officer notified dispatch that the driver was possibly a Black man who was about 50 years old.
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After Gaeta fled the scene, police said her car was found at a dead-end road by K-9 officer Kyle Ribera.
Police body camera footage shows Ribera park behind Gaeta’s vehicle and begin to exit the car with his gun drawn while yelling “Hands up!”
Gaeta’s vehicle then backed into the police car, causing Ribera to fall back into the car.
“He’s ramming me,” Ribera says before exiting the vehicle again and firing more than a dozen shots into the back of Gaeta’s car, shattering the back windshield.
Video shows Ribera change his weapon’s clip and yell “Put your hands up.”
The officer then fired another volley of shots into Gaeta’s vehicle — with bullets shattering windows on the drivers side — as the car pulled forward and then swung back toward Ribera.
Gaeta was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. Ribera received medical treatment for a head and hand injury, police said.
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In a statement to USA TODAY, Stockton police said a multi-agency investigation into the incident is underway and will require a final review by the District Attorney’s Office. The Stockton Police Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ribera was placed on three-day paid administrative leave following the incident but has since returned to work, according to a police statement.
“Stockton PD has quickly moved to stand by Officer Ribera rather than hold him accountable,” Jayme Walker, an attorney at the firm representing Gaeta’s family, said in a statement this week.
Walker added that “Nationally recognized standards prohibit officers from firing at moving vehicles absent the most compelling circumstances.”
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A Stockton Police Department policy from 2019 “generally prohibits shooting at a fleeing vehicle.”
“Decisions to fire at moving vehicles must be based on the most compelling circumstances,” according to the policy.
Gaeta’s daughter, Tressie Gaeta, remembered her as a “loving, caring mother and grandmother” who “always knew how to put a smile on your face,” according to the statement from family lawyers.
“My children and I are going to miss her tremendously,” Tressie Gaeta said. “I hope that we can find justice because she did not deserve to die like that.”
Gaeta’s son, Alex Gaeta Jr., called his mother “warm hearted” and a “kind soul” who “always saw the light in others.”
“I am so distracted and besides myself trying to understand why such a violent excessive use of force was used to handle this situation,” he said in the statement. “I just want justice for my mother.”
Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism