Ricardo Esparza

How they died

Deadly force

Deputies responded to a call from Esparza's mother stating that he was mentally ill, off his medication and had become abusive. She had contacted law enforcement three times before in the last two years to get him to the hospital. They tried,unsuccessfully, to subdue Esparza, who was armed with a pan in one hand and "something shiny" in the other, with beanbag rounds and rubber bullets. When he continued to threaten them, he was shot and killed.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Ricardo Esparza, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources