Nathaniel Pickett Sr., left, and Dominic Archibald, center, rally at the Victorville Superior Courthouse on Tuesday in support of their son Nathaniel Pickett Jr., who died in an officer involved shooting in November in Barstow
ICTORVILLE — About 40 community organizers and volunteers with signs rallied outside the courthouse Tuesday evening to put pressure on the District Attorney's office to press charges against a deputy who shot and killed a mentally-ill Barstow man.
The majority marched from the Holiday Inn on Palmdale Road to the courthouse steps on Civic Drive, holding signs that urged officials to hold law enforcement accountable, including one that read: "We want dirty cops prosecuted, we want honest cops protected."
The rally, called "Countdown for Justice," comes less than a month before the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office is expected to announce results of its investigation into the death of Nathaniel Harris Pickett, Jr., attorney Jim Terrell said.
Terrell told the Daily Press he had been advised that results of the officer-involved shooting were expected by mid-August, adding he doesn't expect charges to be filed, however, against the San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputy.
On Nov. 19, Pickett was killed outside the El Rancho Motel where he had been living. Authorities say he was seen hopping a fence, provided a false name when contacted by a deputy, was generally uncooperative and then ran as the deputy attempted to handcuff him.
A fight ensued and the deputy, identified as Kyle Woods, was hurt during the course of the scuffle that led to Pickett's death, authorities said. They concluded that Pickett struck the deputy "numerous times in the face and refused to comply with the repeated verbal commands to stop hitting him and move away."
A 45-second surveillance video taken from the motel shows Pickett darting away from the deputy through a corridor, then tripping and sliding to a stop. He appears to scoot away from the deputy, who attempts to subdue and handcuff him.
The video does not appear to show Pickett offering any offensive resistance as a civilian ride-along, who Terrell said was still unidentified, scurries up to the scene. The deputy can be seen landing blows to Pickett's head before the video cuts off.
"The question becomes what does justified mean?" said Dominic Archibald, Pickett's mother, who was not optimistic charges will be filed. "What does justified mean for the DA versus what does it mean to the community?"
The Barstow Police Department investigated the shooting, collecting security camera footage and belt recordings as evidence, and then submitted the evidence and a report to the DA's office.
Attorney Sharon Brunner said she and Terrell also provided three or four witnesses to the DA's office.
Eli West, president of Community Action Network, a High Desert-based coalition, said four of the group's eight members were marching Tuesday.
"There's a gap here that needs to be bridged on the color line," he said.
Brunner, Terrell and attorney Ernest Jarrett have filed a federal lawsuit against Woods and the county, contending that Woods allegedly "unlawfully, improperly and maliciously shot" Pickett to death.