DOJ supports family's lawsuit against Montgomery County police
GAITHERSBURG, Md. - There is new support for a lawsuit against Montgomery County police, following the deadly shooting of a man at a Gaithersburg McDonald’s in 2021.
Attorneys for the family of Ryan LeRoux, 21, said Thursday that the disability rights section of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has filed a statement of interest supporting the lawsuit.
According to a statement from attorneys Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP, "The lawsuit seeks to hold accountable Montgomery County and four of its police officers for the unnecessary July 2021 killing of LeRoux at a McDonald’s drive-thru while he was suffering a mental health crisis."
The law firm says Montgomery County police filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
"The civil rights division, in its 18-page statement of interest, explained that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), MCPD must do more than simply dismiss Ryan’s case," the firm said.
The suit alleges police knew or should have known about LeRoux’s mental health crisis.
In July 2021, four officers shot LeRoux 23 times. LeRoux was in the drive-thru at the McDonald’s on Flower Hill Way and refused to move his car or get out when police arrived.
Police said he had a gun and alcohol. While LeRoux never fired at officers, they said they thought he pointed the gun at them — a gun police later said was found in his lap.
Family of man killed by police suing Montgomery County
Body camera footage doesn’t offer a clear picture of LeRoux’s actions in those final moments.
Ultimately, a grand jury declined to indict the officers, and they are now back on duty.
LeRoux’s father, Paul, spoke at a press conference in April after the lawsuit was filed saying he wants to prevent this from happening again, and he doesn’t want his son’s death to be in vain.
"Rhonda and I truly believe if the person experiencing this mental health crisis was white or a relative of the police officers, they would’ve responded completely different," he said. "With assistance, not 23 bullets."
Paul Leroux said Thursday that he had just gotten the new information about the lawsuit.
FOX 5 has reached out to Montgomery County, however, a spokesperson said the county doesn't comment on pending litigation.