The family of a 16-year-old suspect who fatally shot himself while fleeing from law enforcement is now demanding $7 million in damages from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, claiming the agency is responsible for the teen’s death.
Anthony Garrett, 16, died after barricading himself in his home during a police standoff and firing a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The incident followed a reported robbery involving three teenage suspects, including Garrett and an 11-year-old boy who was arrested at the scene.
According to reports from KTNV and the Las Vegas Sun, officers responded to a 911 call about a home break-in and quickly apprehended one of the suspects. Garrett fled but was tracked to his residence, where he entered and locked himself inside a bedroom. Police ordered him to surrender after realizing he was armed. Moments later, officers heard a single gunshot coming from the room.
Unsure whether Garrett was still armed or alive, police treated the situation as an active barricade scenario. Out of concern for the safety of bystanders and officers, Garrett’s family was escorted from the home while SWAT officers attempted to make contact over a span of several hours.
When police finally breached the bedroom four hours later, they found Garrett with a gunshot wound to the head. Though he was initially believed to be deceased, Garrett was transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he remained on life support for two days before passing away. The Clark County Coroner later ruled the death a suicide.
Despite the circumstances, Garrett’s family filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, seeking $7 million in compensation for what they allege was a wrongful death due to police negligence and failure in training and supervision.
Garrett’s mother, Taccara Brooks, is represented by civil rights attorney E. Brent Bryson. Bryson questioned the timeline of the response and suggested that the gunshot may not have been self-inflicted. He also raised concerns over the delay in Garrett’s hospitalization, claiming that it took approximately seven hours from the time of the shooting for Garrett to be transported to the hospital.
“We know there was at least approximately a seven-hour delay from the time of the shot to the time Anthony was transported to the hospital,” Bryson said during a press conference.
LVMPD spokesman Officer Jay Rivera disputed the claims made in the lawsuit. He confirmed that the officers had no direct line of sight into the locked bedroom and could not confirm Garrett’s condition at the time of the shot. Rivera stated that police believed Garrett posed a continuing threat, which justified the extended standoff before entering the room.
“Clearly it’s not the desired outcome that we had,” Rivera said. “We would have hoped that the negotiators would have been able to establish contact with him, would have been able to reason with him, and he would have come to his senses and come out peacefully.”
Brooks claims officers mishandled the situation and mistreated her family during the incident. She also alleges that she was misled about her son’s location and the nature of his injuries during the standoff. She accused the officers of treating her family like “animals.”
Despite the pending lawsuit, the department maintains that officers acted in accordance with proper procedures based on the information available at the time. They further noted that stolen goods from other robberies were recovered in connection with Garrett.
Garrett’s family continues to describe him as a promising young man with a bright future. He was reportedly good at math and dreamed of becoming a basketball player. His loved ones insist that his death was preventable and that police failed in their duty to protect him.
As public scrutiny increases over police tactics involving minors and standoff scenarios, this case has drawn attention from civil rights groups and legal experts. While the courts will ultimately determine whether the department bears any legal responsibility, the debate continues over how officers should respond to armed and barricaded juveniles, particularly those in distress.
Regardless of legal outcomes, the death of a teenager following a robbery and standoff raises difficult questions about responsibility, crisis response, and accountability.