The family of a man who was shot and killed by Fort Dodge police while in the midst of a mental-health crisis is now suing the city.

The estate of Tyler Stansberry is suing the city, its police department, and officers Nicholas Ruggles, Matthew English, Mathew Webb and Andrew Lane in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed last month in state court, states that Stansberry, 24, was autistic and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. On March 16, 2024, according to the lawsuit, his brother, Tristan, called police and told the dispatcher, “My brother has schizophrenia … He’s having an episode right now … I need help, please … Tell them, please, not to hurt my brother.”

Upon their arrival at the Stansberry home, according to the lawsuit, Tristan informed Ruggles and English the court had approved an involuntary commitment the day before and someone was supposed to come to the house to facilitate the commitment.

Tristan also told the officers Tyler had a weapon — a knife, he believed — and advised the officers, “Just don’t grab your gun. Tase him if you have to. Don’t grab your gun,” the lawsuit alleges.

At roughly 8:55 a.m., Webb and Lane arrived at the scene. Christine Stansberry, Tyler’s mother, allegedly overheard one of the four officers use the word “shotgun” and, according to the lawsuit, she panicked and asked, “What did you say? Did he say shotgun?” Lane clarified that he was referring to a shotgun that fired non-lethal beanbags to incapacitate individuals, according to the lawsuit.

About 9 a.m., Ruggles entered the home holding a police shield in one hand and a Taser in the other. English, armed with a 9mm handgun, followed. Lane, with the beanbag gun, was behind English, and Webb, armed with a handgun, brought up the rear.

The officers descended a set of stairs to the basement, according to the lawsuit. Tyler emerged from a room in the back of the basement and “moved directly toward the officers,” the lawsuit claims.

Almost simultaneously, Ruggles fired his Taser, Lane fired his beanbag gun, and English fired two shots from his handgun — with Tyler struck by every round fired by each officer, according to the lawsuit. Stansberry later died of the gunshot wounds, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for alleged negligence that led to the shooting. The city has yet to respond to the allegations.

Attorney general concluded shooting was justified

The office of Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird investigated the shooting and concluded in a written report that Stansberry “had a history of violence,” had been violent that day, and was armed with at least one deadly weapon.

The police officers, the report stated, “resorted to force only when Stansberry, without provocation, charged at them from concealment from only a few feet away, armed with a knife in each hand. Even after being tased, struck by a beanbag round, and shot by two bullets, Stansberry continued to resist the officers.

“Had the officers, including Officer English, not used lethal force, they would have likely suffered serious injury or death … The Iowa Attorney General’s Office concludes that law-enforcement officers’ actions in this incident were legally justified and that criminal charges are unwarranted.”