Family appeals ruling that threw out lawsuit over 2017 BIA shooting death in North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Children of a man shot and killed in 2017 during a highway traffic stop on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation are appealing a judge’s decision to throw out their wrongful death lawsuit.
In 2019, the three siblings, acting through their mother, sued Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer Raymond Webb, another BIA officer who was later dismissed from the lawsuit and the federal government in connection with the Oct. 23, 2017, shooting death of their father, 35-year-old George “Ryan” Gipp Jr. The family sought damages to be determined by the judge at trial.
Webb used his Taser twice on Gipp, then fired 17 rounds, according to court documents from both sides. Gipp was fatally shot. The shooting took place south of Fort Yates, North Dakota, along State Highway 24 on the reservation.
U.S. Justice Department attorneys said Webb’s uses of the Taser and deadly force were “reasonable and justified.” They said Gipp’s actions, such as ignoring the officers’ commands and “repeatedly reaching into a weighed-down hoodie pocket,” “heightened the perceived threat level.” After Webb used his Taser, Gipp ran behind the other officer’s vehicle and pulled “a black, shiny object” from his pocket that Webb reasonably believed was a gun, according to the government.