The family of a Denver teenager who was sitting in his car outside his school last year when he was shot and eventually died has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district.
In the lawsuit, the family of 16-year-old Luis Garcia claims Denver Public Schools, the school board and East High School failed to protect him in February 2023.
The complaint highlights that under the Claire Davis School Safety Act, the district and school weakened the environment’s safety by removing school resource officers in 2020. Denver Public Schools removed all Denver police school resource officers from their buildings by the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. In wake of the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, and calls to defund police departments, the Denver school board unanimously voted to remove 17 Denver police officers from their buildings.
Garcia was shot in the head multiple times by another juvenile. His family has been searching for answers since then and wondering why more was not done to protect their son.