In this picture taken from Pueblo County Sheriff’s police physique digital camera supplied by legal professional Darold Killmer, Richard Ward sits within the backseat of a automobile as he’s questioned by Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles McWhorter on Feb. 22, 2022.

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In this picture taken from Pueblo County Sheriff’s police physique digital camera supplied by legal professional Darold Killmer, Richard Ward sits within the backseat of a automobile as he’s questioned by Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles McWhorter on Feb. 22, 2022.

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A Colorado sheriff’s division is taking warmth for giving one among its deputies an award for accidents he sustained throughout a violent incident final yr.

The awards ceremony this month for Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles McWhorter got here simply days earlier than the household of the person he shot and killed in the exact same incident filed a wrongful dying lawsuit in federal court docket.

The Purple Heart award for McWhorter was first reported by The Pueblo Chieftain.

Darold Killmer, an legal professional for the household of Richard Ward, stated in an emailed assertion to NPR that Ward’s household did not know in regards to the award earlier than submitting the swimsuit, however that it was a “truly a brazen act which mocks the very purpose of a Purple Heart.”

“Pueblo’s cynical efforts to somehow make McWhorter a hero under these circumstances is disgusting,” Killmer stated.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Department didn’t instantly reply to NPR’s request for a remark.

On Feb. 22, 2022, authorities said Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputies have been referred to as to an area center faculty to research a “report of a man knocking on windows of vehicles.”

Newly launched body camera footage exhibits McWhorter speaking to Ward, who’s sitting at the back of his mom’s automobile. Ward’s mom and her boyfriend are within the entrance seats, and the three of them have been ready to choose up Ward’s youthful brother from Liberty Point International Middle School.

Ward had gone for a short stroll whereas they waited, his household stated. In the video footage, Ward explains to McWhorter that when he returned from the stroll he mistakenly acquired into a unique automobile that seemed just like his mom’s. Ward says he apologized to the driving force and left.

McWhorter asks Ward if he has an ID or any weapons, and Ward says he might need a pocket knife however would not produce one. Ward as an alternative finds an anti-anxiety tablet and takes it.

McWhorter loudly asks Ward what he put in his mouth earlier than he and Deputy Cassandra Gonzales pull Ward from the automobile and wrestle him to the bottom.

After a short scuffle, McWhorter shoots Ward — who was unarmed — 3 times. McWhorter tells Gonzales: “He headbutted my nose and then tried grabbing at my stuff.”

According to the wrongful dying lawsuit filed by his household, Ward suffered from nervousness round police and took an anti-anxiety pill within the again seat of the automobile.

The swimsuit — which names McWhorter and Gonzales, different officers and Pueblo County as defendants — claims McWhorter had “no legitimate law enforcement purpose” to fireplace his gun and that he violated Ward’s constitutional rights.

In October, Colorado’s tenth Judicial District Attorney J.E. Chostner concluded that using power by McWhorter and Gonzales was justified and that no legal expenses can be filed towards them.