LEAGUE CITY, Texas – The family of a man who was shot four times and killed during an interaction with police in 2019 have filed a lawsuit against League City and the League City police officer who shot him.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, claims excessive deadly force, unlawful seizure/detention, failure to provide medical care, wrongful death, survival action, municipal liability and indemnification, or monetary loss.
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The lawsuit claims that Patrick Bradshaw and League City are responsible for Matthew Krupar’s death after police responded to his home in the 6500 block of Turner Field on Dec. 11, 2019.
The lawsuit claims that Krupar was unarmed and was experiencing a mental health issue at the time officers arrived and was “unable to harm anyone, especially trained officers.” Krupar died after Officer Patrick shot him four times, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges Krupar “did not pose a risk of substantial bodily harm (or any bodily harm) to any person at the scene,” while “after the shooting, defendant Bradshaw told authorities and investigators that he shot Matthew Krupar because he subjectively believed that he was ‘in a life and death struggle’ (which the lawsuit calls) that purported subjective belief … a falsehood.”
The suit continues, “(the officer’s) accounting of events is extremely implausible, includes falsehoods, and is belied by the external evidence.”
Bradshaw, an 11-year veteran of the police force at the time of the shooting, was placed on administrative leave, but, the lawsuit argues he returned to full duty and League City did not discipline Bradshaw. The lawsuit goes further, adding that the shooting was “consistent with League City’s policy and practices that allowed and encouraged its officer to engage in excessive force against community members.”
In addition, the lawsuit calls for police training to show empathy, which the lawsuit argues was not shown in Krupar’s case: “This lack of empathy caused defendant Bradshaw to escalate his interaction with Matthew Krupar, which ended with defendant Bradshaw’s unlawful use of deadly force,” the lawsuit reads.
Houston attorney Dax F. Garza is representing Krupar’s father, Matthew Krupar, in the suit.