Unarmed Teen Flashed His Brights At A Cop And Ends Up Dead

The family of an unarmed teenager shot dead by a sheriff's deputy during a Michigan traffic stop in February has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging that the officer's "entire course of action was illegal."

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday against Eaton County Sheriff's Sgt. Jonathan Frost and the county, says the officer was driving a new patrol car on Feb. 28 that had "improperly bright or misaimed headlights, even on low beams." Deven Guilford, 17, who had been driving to his girlfriend's house after playing basketball at his church, was one of three drivers to flash their brights at the officer to get him to dim his lights, the suit says. Frost stopped all three drivers.

Five minutes after Guilford was pulled over, the lawsuit says, the teen lay dead in the snow on the side of the road, struck by seven bullets. The county prosecutor said the teen fought with the deputy and was killed in "justifiable self-defense."

Guilford's parents said in a statement that video taken by the deputy's body camera turned their "confusion" to "outrage."

"We always had great respect for law enforcement and the men and women who chose that profession in the past," Brian and Becky Guilford said. "But we must say that belief has been shaken to the core by the actions of Frost and refusal of the Eaton County Prosecutor to hold Frost accountable. The failed criminal justice system forces us to seek other avenues for some kind of JUSTICE FOR DEVEN."

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for wrongful death and emotional and financial damages.

Guilford's death is the latest in a string of police killings involving allegations of excessive force that have ignited a national debate about police accountability. The best-known cases, including Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Sandra Bland, have involved African-Americans and accusations of racial discrimination.

Guilford and Frost are white.

The Eaton County prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges against Frost in June, releasing photographs that he said showed injuries the officer sustained during a struggle with Guilford. The prosecutor also noted that Guilford's body showed the presence of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Guilford "did not cooperate or comply with Sgt. Frost's eight requests for a driver's license and vehicle paperwork," the prosecutor's press release at the time said. After Frost decided to arrest Guilford for failure to show a license, the teen struggled with the officer for 10 to 15 seconds and provoked the deadly force, the prosecutor said.

An internal investigation also cleared Frost and recommended the sheriff's department "re-emphasize" training, according to local Newschannel 3 WWMT.

Guilford's family says in the lawsuit that Guilford did nothing wrong in flashing his high-beams at the officer. Frost's "entire course of action was illegal and in violation of Deven's constitutional rights," the suit says.

The lawsuit says Guilford asked for the officer's badge number and questioned why he was being stopped -- things within his rights to demand. Frost, the suit says, escalated the exchange at every stage and ultimately used excessive force.

How can you be pulled over for flashing your lights? The video is f***ed up. That's why if I ever get pulled over by a cop I'll just comply and try to fight it in court. Don't want to risk getting shot by some bastard who somehow ended up on the police force.

Screw that. I'll just stick diplomatic plates on and then when I get pulled over I'd be like.....

Me: Look at my plates you idiot.

Cop: Excuse me?

Me: Look. At. My. Plates.

Cop: One moment please Sir.

Me: Ok (Fake smile).......

Cop: Sorry Sir, I didn't notice your diplomatic plates, have a nice day Sir.

Me: Uh huh.........

*Drives away*

Oh no.

I hope things don't get chaotic again.

Beata

Damn that video is pretty damning.

I'm not watching that video i don't want to watch a teenager get killed.

This kind of stuff pisses me off, not only is he abusing his power he's making hard for other cops(ones who follow the rules).

Who cares if he's not complying? You shoot someone who doesn't comply?

I didn't see anyone get shot in that video. Only tased a couple times even then only because of the sound. Once while he was on the ground and another time when it appeared he got up and came at the officer to what I assume was a struggle.

@the_new_avenger: I watched it

the cop knew his headlights were too bright (he says so in the video after the kid says his lights were too bright)

so he knewhis reason for pulling that teen over was made up, andheld no reason for him to be pulled over

then when he refuses to give his license and info, the cop calls for backup, then calls again saying it's a priority

then instead of waiting for backup, he forces the door open and tries to force the kid out of the car

and when he can't he threatens to shoot him with a tazer (knowing full well that the kids only crime is trying to make sure the cop isn't breaking the law)

then while the kid tries to talk to him saying he's done nothing wrong(while the cop is trying to arrest him for nothing), the cop shoots him with the tazer for not being illegally arrested

and only after he was tazed does the kid ever try fighting back so he won't be beaten more

the video goes dark for the last 10 seconds, and I stopped it before I hear any gunshots

but it was very clear the kid knew his rights, while the cop did not

@mrnoital: Watched the whole thing. There were no gunshots.

I found a YT vid that included the gunshots at the end. Replaced it in the OP.

@mrnoital: That makes me mad, he already used the tazer wrongfully why was the gun needed? A trained cop can't subdue a kid with a tazer ( he wasn't even supposed to and he still couldn't)

I hope this cop is sued for all his worth and then sent to prison for life.

In America it's getting to the point where you can't go to school with out being scared, and you can't get pulled over with out being scared. Canada is starting to look nice.

@zorn_a_rust_red_scythe: I'd rather not watch a kid around my age get murder for no reason.

You should include both for those who don't want to see a kid get shot but want to know what happened. The only reason I told the other users that there was no gun shot was so they would feel ok in watching it.

@the_new_avenger: the whole thing pissed me off, but the one bit that pissed me off the most

he already called for backup, the kid was completely right in not complying, the cop should have waited, and he deserves the worst sentence they can give him

according to the report he shot the kid 7 times

7

clearly he didn't just try to stop the kid, he was actually trying to kill

Looks like the kid attacked the cop to me, justified.

@cgoodness: Even if he attacked the cop, tazer is more than enough to bring a kid down.

Also 7 shots is pathetic the cop should rot in jail.

You are thinking emotionally and not logically. The cops life became endangered the second that kid attacked him, thus deadly force was justified, with the current evidence the cop is innocent, but may get in trouble for trying to take the kid out of the car. Remember everyone (well except those who arnt drinking the Kool Aid) thought Michael Brown was innocent but evidence showed he assaulted Wilson and tried to take his gun? More evidence is needed, innocent until proven guilty.

@ghaszaszh_nyirh said:

Check out what the kid did to the cop when he attacked him.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/06/17/photos-injured-sergeant-involved-fatal-shooting-released/28889097/

Lethal force was justified. So says Ghaszaszh Nyirh.

Naaaaaa Cops lives dont matter

Edit: Thats a joke

@cgoodness: Mike brown kept charging even after fired upon. Did this kid keep coming after he was shot? Or did the Cop shoot 7 times in rapid succession?

Look at what @ghaszaszh_nyirh just posted, both were getting assaulted to the point they were gonna get knocked out thus self defense thus innocent.

@cgoodness: If the autopsy comes back and it's proved that the kid was on top and attacking then yes.

He could have just put his knee into the kids back and forced him into cuffs.

What's with these cop sympathizers who make excuses even for those showing tyrannical behavior no matter what they do? The entire altercation could have been prevented if the cop wasn't on a power trip.

@citizensentry: And... He comes back to you and shot you.

@ghaszaszh_nyirh said:

Check out what the kid did to the cop when he attacked him.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/06/17/photos-injured-sergeant-involved-fatal-shooting-released/28889097/

Lethal force was justified. So says Ghaszaszh Nyirh.

Could you make less sense?

Pilasy:La Voix d'un homme

@rouflex: Only if you ask nicely.

@ghaszaszh_nyirh: That was nicely asked.

Pilasy:La Voix d'un homme

I say the same thing I say on all these types of cases. Let's wait until the evidence is presented before making a judgment.

Working in speculation territory for the same of discussion if the kid did physically fight the officer, then lethal force very well might have been justified. Any attempt to wrestle with the officer could very well turn into a lunge for the officer's gun. Rarely will I blame a cop or a civilian for erring on the side of lethal force if unduy attacked.

If the cop was attacked but escalated the situation unnecessarily, then he should be discharged. I'm not sure if any charges are due in that situation, but he definitely shouldn't keep his job. I've met a disproportionately high amount of cops with bad additides who look for excuses to prove how tough they are. It's wrong.

Obviously if the young man was shot without due cause, the officer should be charged wih murder.

He should have stayed on the ground.

Smfh.

Thats some Robocop logic there.

Can someone explain cops that Robocop and Dirty Harry only killed violent criminals.

@rouflex: I don't live in Canada (You know, your country) or America, we don't get shot for doing nothing illegal.

@citizensentry: Until they do.

Ps:Your ignorance on Canada is limitless...

Pilasy:La Voix d'un homme

Not nice enough. The sentence didn't contain the word "please".

Its not because you dream that i kiss your feets means it will happen.

Pilasy:La Voix d'un homme

I love Canada. What the hell are you talking about? I just find it funny how people from Quebec believe they are French. Hell even the people who live in Quebec like Canada more, that's why they chose not to split. XD

Innocent until proven guilty. The teen could've attacked the officer and grabbed the gun, which would've justified lethal force.

Disappointed how everyone is rushing to conclusions over this.

Exactly what i thought... You don't love Canada, you love your illusion you have on it. Quit being a child for once and read a book and learn.

Pilasy:La Voix d'un homme

I didn't realize there was video so my previous comments are unneeded.

I do not in general like or trust cops, but I think that kid had it coming.

The officer was not a dick. He approached very politely. He spent three minutes talking calmly to the kid which is better than what I would have done. The kid refused to show his liscense as he was legally bound to do. He continuously refused police orders on this front. He resisted arrest. After an attempt to taze (did it fail or did the kid plow through it?) the kid attacked the officer.

The kid had it coming.

I didn't rush to anything, I watched the video, showing what happened

the cop attacked the kid multiple times

He didn't. He refused arrest, the cop tasered him, then the kid attacked the cop judging from the pictures and the camera going fuzzy at the end. The cop was completely justified in shooting him if that was the case.

@mrnoital:

What times did the cop attack the kid? The only time I saw the cop do anything that could be considered assault is after he had started putting the kid under arrest and the kid had refused to comply. An officer has the right to force someone to comply to an arrest.

@knightsofdarkness2: the kid knew his rights and resisted unlawful arrest

the cop knew his lights were too bright, yet pulled over someone that was warning him his lights were too bright(which is dangerous)

then he threw open the door and tried to forced the kid out of the car, that's an action that would entitle anyone to lethal force, except when it's a cop trying to follow through with an unwarranted/illegal stop

hell, the cop called in another car, he should have known to wait for that other car(that he called in as priority)

he tried to arrest this kid for knowing that the cop had no right to pull him over, and decided to do it before responsibly waiting for the backup he knew was coming

he went on a power trip, and shot a kid with a taser with no provocation

#copslivesdontmatter

throwing open a car door and trying to yank someone out of the car

anyone does that on the street, and you shoot them, I don't see you getting sentenced to murder

@mrnoital:The cop was asking for his license, which the kid refused to show. That and the kid should've just complied instead of attacking the cop and injuring him severely. The cop had the right to defend himself with lethal force since the kid was practically trying to kill him at that point.

@knightsofdarkness2: the cop had no reason to pull him over, the cop was aware that he was causing unsafe conditions(he knew his lights were too bright)

your basically saying they should arrest everyone and decide what they're guilty of later, that's backwards thinking

the kid didn't attack the cop, the cop attacked the kid multiple times, then the kid finally defended himself after the cop escalated it way beyond where it needed to go

did you even watch the video?

he fought the cop... if you fight you have something to hide... I don't like that he died but darn it all he had o do was cooperate. the cop wasn't even been a dick he just wanted his license, registration and proof of insurance. pretty standard request by a cop. hes dead because he was an idiot.

Poor kid R.I.P.

@mrnoital: He asked for his license, which the kid REFUSED to show which would make the kid an illegal driver that could put many people in danger on the road. He talked with the kid for a good 3 minutes but he still denied to show it, and then rightfully tasered him which then lead to the kid trying to kill the cop. The cop had every right to use lethal force. It wasn't self defence, he was resisting arrest and attempted to murder a cop who asked for his license.

@knightsofdarkness2: yeah he talked for a few minutes, while the kid was saying how the cop was making conditions unsafe, and he refused for several minutes

the kid was trying to be a good citizen, and the cop was antagonizing him for trying to make safer conditions

the kid was laying on his stomach in the street when the cop tasered him, how is that rightful? that kid was on the kid and was not a threat, and that cop used a weapon that has actually killed quite a few people on someone laying in down on the street under his orders

the kid asked for the badge number but the cop dodged that and refused to give it to him

the kid resisted unlawful arrest which is not only a citizens right, but duty

Your Right of Defense Against Unlawful Arrest. “Citizens may resist unlawful arrest to the point of taking an arresting officer's life if necessary.” Plummer v. State, 136 Ind. 306. This premise was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case: John Bad Elk v. U.S., 177 U.S. 529.