Paul Chavez Jr

What: Press conference announcing the filing of a federal lawsuit on behalf of Paul Chavez Jr., shot to death by an unknown police officer with the Modesto Police Department
Where: 1409 Entrada Way, Modesto, Calif (the victim’s front yard where the police killing occurred on July 14th, 2022 )
Who: Civil Rights Attorneys John Burris and Ben Nisenbaum, and the family of Paul Chavez, including his wife, Brittoni Estrella, Josh Clutter (father-in-law), Teresa Clutter (mother-in-law), and other family members.
When: 1:00 PM, Tuesday, July 25th, 2022

Modesto, CA–—At 1 PM today, Civil Rights Attorney John Burris of the Law offices of Burris, Nisenbaum, Curry, and Lacey “BNCL” will hold a press conference announcing the filing of a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of California alleging that Paul Chavez Jr’s. And other family members’ civil rights were violated by
Modesto Police officers (names unknown). 

On July 14, 2022, around 5:30 PM, a Chavez family member called the Modesto police department claiming that Paul Chavez was intoxicated and was creating a family disturbance at their residence, 1409 Entrada Way, in Modesto. When the police arrived, Mr. Chavez had left his residence and was standing on the lawn at a neighbor’s house right next door, and he was talking to himself and wandering back and forth.

When the police first approached Mr. Chavez, he was alone and holding a “tow hitch” in one hand in a non-threatening manner. As the officers approached Mr. Chavez, one of them began shouting, “drop it, drop it.” As Mr. Chavez attempted to comply, he was inexplicably tased by an officer and simultaneously, without warning, shot twice by another officer, striking him in the left arm and upper left side. Mr. Chavez died from the gunshots.

He was 30 years old, and married with three minor children. John Burris said, “seeing the video is shocking, but worse yet is the realization that it was both egregious and
avoidable. The police were called to protect the family, but because they failed to communicate, lack of patience, or worse yet, lack of respect for lives in this community, they destroyed the lives of the people they were called to protect.” Burris says these officers’ conduct has left Chavez’s minor kids without a dad and a wife without a husband. Mr. Chavez was allegedly under the influence at or near his home; he had committed no crime worthy of being shot to death.

Burris says being under the influence is not a death warrant, and Burris says the shooting was unreasonable and totally unnecessary. The shooting officer’s conduct is so outrageous that he should be
criminally prosecuted for murder or manslaughter by the local District Attorney or the State Attorney General. Ben Nisenbaum of Burris, Nisenbaum, Curry, and Lacey “BNCL” says, “The officer’s decision to kill Mr. Chavez when he posed no significant threat was criminal, whether it was caused by a panic reaction or cold-blooded deliberation. The results are the same; a young man is dead who otherwise should not be.”

Nisenbaum states, “This shocking new video shows the officers had plenty of safe room to move and step back from Mr. Chavez and de-escalate the situation. Instead, in a matter of seconds, they chose to unnecessarily tase and shoot a young father of four to death.”