Police Brutality / Individual record
Andy Lopez
Thirteen-year-old Andy Lopez was killed by a Sonoma County deputy after being spotted carrying a toy airsoft rifle in Santa Rosa on October 22, 2013.
- Record ID
- PB-066
- Date of death
- October 22, 2013
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Santa Rosa, CA
- Category
- Deputy sheriff shooting
What happened
Andy Lopez, an eighth-grade student, was walking along Moorland Avenue in Santa Rosa when Sonoma County deputies Erick Gelhaus and Michael Schemmel saw him carrying an airsoft rifle designed to resemble an AK-47. Gelhaus ordered him to drop it and then fired several times as Andy turned, killing him. Witness descriptions differed about how many commands were given and whether the replica was raised. The young boy's family said he had not threatened anyone and accused the deputies of excessive force. Community rallies demanded accountability; a local park later came to bear Andy's name.
Investigation & findings
Sonoma County's district attorney and federal prosecutors declined criminal charges. Andy's family brought federal excessive-force claims; an appellate court allowed the lawsuit to proceed, and Sonoma County reached a $3 million civil settlement in 2018.
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- Historical source-derived record, pre-2015
Sources & records
- Primary source
- Additional source
- Methodology and national police killings trackingMapping Police Violence · Dataset/methodology
- Published historical compilation of Black people killed in police custody (1999–2014)SAGE journal / cited NAACP LDF memorial listing · 2016 · Secondary scholarly source