May 9—According to court documents, a $30 million federal lawsuit was filed Monday in Sacramento against Yuba County, the Yuba County Sheriff's Office and sheriff's deputies after 10-year-old Frank Rosiles Jr. was shot and killed during an incident in Olivehurst in early February.

The suit alleges that due to a current transport policy followed by deputies with the Yuba County Sheriff's Office and their actions following the shooting of the boy, Rosiles died.

Law enforcement officials initially reported that the 10-year-old Rosiles was killed after being shot on Feb. 5 in what the Yuba County Sheriff's Department at the time called a "dispute among families." Rosiles was transported to Adventist Health/Rideout Hospital in Marysville, but was pronounced dead, law enforcement officials previously said.

The suspected shooter, 31-year-old Juan Ortiz of Olivehurst, was arrested shortly after and pleaded not guilty on Feb. 7 in a Yuba County court to various charges that include first-degree murder.

At issue, according to the lawsuit, is the response of Yuba County Sheriff's Office deputies to the shooting and the actions that lawyers claimed led to the death of Rosiles.

According to court documents, Rosiles "was shot in the abdomen while inside of his relatives' home. Relatives attempted to call 9-1-1 but had difficulty speaking to a dispatcher."

The lawsuit claims that Rosiles was placed in the backseat of a pickup truck so that he could be driven to the hospital for treatment. As the truck was about to leave for the hospital, "several patrol vehicles" from the sheriff's office "surrounded the pickup truck and were parked in a manner which intentionally blocked the pickup truck," the lawsuit alleges.

Lawyers, who filed the suit on behalf of the estate of Frank Rosiles Jr. and his mother Lori Rosiles, also claim that deputies "pointed firearms at the pickup truck and the driver of the pickup truck." The suit alleges that not only did deputies prevent Frank Rosiles Jr. from getting treatment in a timely manner, deputies also allegedly pulled the boy out of the truck and "laid him on the ground, in a puddle of water."

The suit also alleges that the deputies did not perform emergency medical assistance nor did deputies allow anyone at the scene to help Rosiles. According to the lawsuit, Rosiles laid on the ground for about 15 minutes.

"The main thing here is that he was on his way to the hospital," Mark Merin, a lawyer who filed the case in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, told the Appeal on Tuesday. "He was in his house and shot. ... They waited for an ambulance after Rosiles was shot. It didn't come, it didn't come. They loaded him up in their pickup truck. ... Then they were barricaded in by sheriff's vehicles. Handcuffed the driver of the pickup truck. Kept the family away ... and waited and waited. All that delay led to his death. Had he been transported immediately he would have survived. We have experts that say this is an absolutely regrettable and preventable act."

After Rosiles was eventually transported to the hospital by an ambulance, the family claims they were not permitted to see him. Unbeknownst to the family as they waited in the hospital parking lot after being "led to believe that hospital staff were attempting to stabilize" Rosiles for a "life-flight" to UC Davis Medical Center, Rosiles already was pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m., according to the lawsuit.

The family claims they were not told about Rosiles' death until about 11 p.m. that night.

Following policy

Lawyers claim that a major factor that led to the death of Rosiles is a transport policy currently in place for the Yuba County Sheriff's Office — cited as Yuba County Sheriff's Office Policy 430.4 ("Transporting Ill and Injured Persons"). According to the lawsuit, the policy states the following:

"Except in extraordinary cases where alternatives are not reasonably available, members should not transport persons who are unconscious, who have serious injuries or who may be seriously ill. EMS personnel should be called to handle patient transportation. Deputies should search any person who is in custody before releasing that person to EMS for transport. A deputy should accompany any person in custody during transport in an ambulance when requested by EMS personnel, when it reasonably appears necessary to provide security, when it is necessary for investigative purposes or when so directed by a supervisor. Members should not provide emergency escort for medical transport or civilian vehicles."

The suit claims that this policy was the "moving force" behind the actions of the deputies that night, alleging that preventing a "timely transport to the hospital" resulted in a "critical delay" of Rosiles receiving medical care.

"What happens when you get someone to an emergency room is they immediately (start life saving efforts) ... they save lives," Merin said Tuesday. "Every minute counts. Crucial minutes were lost. Horrible instance of lack of training."

Merin said that having a policy that private citizens can't transport someone to the hospital is "ridiculous."

"They should have known," Merin said. "... There's no loss here except time, and that's what was precious."

When asked for a comment or statement regarding the lawsuit, Katy Goodson with the Yuba County Sheriff's Department said, "we are unable to comment on pending litigation."

Yuba County officials also were not able to provide a comment or statement because of the pending litigation.

Merin said a jury trial will occur unless "something happens in between." He said the case could be dismissed, a summary judgment could be granted or the case could be settled.

According to Merin, the claims made about the transportation policy should force the sheriff's office to think about changing it.

"They should look at their situations objectively," Merin said of the Yuba County Sheriff's Office. "They take a defensive posture immediately. They denied our claim. It takes getting some outside expert involved before they recognize their liability."