SAN ANTONIO — The family of AJ Hernandez filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges excessive force was used when a San Antonio Police Department officer shot and killed the 13-year-old after authorities say he rammed into a police cruiser with a stolen car in June 2022.
A grand jury decided in February 2023 not to charge Officer Stephen Ramos with wrongdoing in the incident, despite calls for accountability from the boy's relatives and the civil rights lawyer representing them.
On Wednesday, attorney Lee Merritt announced the civil rights lawsuit. Merritt is a prominent civil rights lawyer and activist who also is representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery.
At a news conference right after filing the suit, he said the federal lawsuit seeks damages from Ramos and the City of San Antonio. He says Ramos violated AJ's Fourth Amendment rights, alleging the officer conducted an unlawful search and seizure.
"There is no justification that a 13 year-old, who was reported missing a month before, would be gunned down during a joy ride call," Merritt said.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Hernandez's mother, who says she reported her son missing four weeks before his death in this incident.
"It was not OK to shoot and kill my son because he was running scared," his mother tearfully said Wednesday.
Last year, Bexar County released multiple video clips and audio files from the night of the incident.
Dash cam video from Ramos' SAPD cruiser shows a vehicle purportedly being driven by AJ hitting another responding officer before the boy was shot and detained.
"AJ was boxed in and did not pose any threat to these officers," said Blerim Elmazi, co-counsel on the case. "What should have been a minor traffic stop quickly turned into a deadly encounter when Officer Ramos immediately resorted to use of force."
Further, Merritt said evidence shows AJ hit the patrol vehicle in an attempt to flee from officers.
"Officers are not permitted under any interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to use deadly force to stop a car from fleeing," Merritt said. "When you use deadly force to stop an individual from fleeing — absent a threat — you have committed a crime."
Merritt responded to previous remarks from SAPD that the car AJ was driving represented a deadly threat.
"If you are alleging the vehicle represents a deadly threat, the way to stop a vehicle is not to shoot the driver," Merritt said. "That will not — and in this case did not — stop the vehicle."
Merritt and Elmazi said they expect a response from Ramos and the city within 21 days.
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