A man accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend with a gun then taking off with their infant is suing the city of San Diego and the police officer who shot him as he was holding the baby.
Officer Robert Gladysz shot and wounded Steffon Nutall, 29, late the night of May 19 in an encounter outside a Chollas View apartment complex. The 11-month-old girl Nutall was holding at the time was not struck.
Police had gone looking for Nutall after his ex-girlfriend called 911 as he allegedly threatened her. During the call, a man police identified as Nutall grabbed the phone and told the dispatcher that if officers came to the door, “I’m gonna kill everything in here. I promise you that.”
Nutall alleges in a civil rights lawsuit filed earlier this week in San Diego federal court that the shooting left him “severely limited in his ability to walk or move his legs,” and that he needs to use a wheelchair for mobility.
The suit includes allegations of civil rights violations, excessive force, and assault and battery. Nutall contends that he had not posed “any reasonable or credible threat of violence” to the officer, nor did he do anything “to justify the deadly force used against him.”
The suit mentions that police were responding to a report of a “domestic disturbance” and alleges that the officer shot Nutall because he was running. It does not mention that Nutall reportedly had a gun or had taken the infant, nor that he was hiding in bushes with the baby.
San Diego police and the City Attorney’s Office each declined to comment Thursday on the pending litigation.
Police have previously said Nutall’s ex-girlfriend called 911 about 10:20 p.m. and reported that she let Nutall in after he had threatened to shoot his way through her door. Nutall grabbed the baby and walked out of the apartment, police said.
San Diego police have since released footage from cameras worn by officers who responded to the call.
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The footage indicates police arrived as Nutall was leaving the apartment. Still carrying the baby, he took off running through a trolley station and eventually ended up hiding in bushes alongside a second apartment complex.
Gladysz spotted Nutall in thick bushes along the complex. Footage from the officer’s camera shows the officer suddenly pointed his gun at the bushes and shouted at someone to show their hands.
A person, presumably Nutall, started to stand and appeared to move downhill away from the officer. Gladysz fired several rounds. Several seconds later, a second officer asked Gladysz if Nutall still had the child. “I didn’t see a kid. I saw the gun,” Gladysz replied.
Nutall and the baby ended up at the bottom of the hill. Police found the baby atop a short retaining wall. Nutall was feet way, between the retaining wall and an apartment building.
The confrontation happened quickly. Footage from the officer’s camera shows Nutall had been holding a dark object in his right hand when the officer opened fire as Nutall rose out of the bushes. It is not clear what the object was. The baby appears to be under his left arm. The ensuing investigation turned up security footage that appears to show Nutall dropping a gun in the trolley parking lot as he ran from police.
Nutall was subsequently arrested. He has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including assault with a semi-automatic firearm, child abuse and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He remains jailed without bail.
Nutall’s preliminary hearing for the criminal case in San Diego Superior Court is slated for October. He faces more than 44 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
