'Poking a sleeping lion' | Mother of Woodbridge man killed by police questions protocols for mental health crises

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — The mother of Woodbridge man who was experiencing a mental health crisis is questioning the police protocol that eventually led to her son being shot and killed by an officer Thursday morning.

Gabriel Ramirez was shot and killed by a Prince William County Police officer following a lengthy standoff that started the night prior to the shooting.  

Prince William County Police say their officers responded to the neighborhood on Caledonia Circle for the reports of a suicidal person at 8:20 p.m. on Wednesday. The call came from Gabriel Ramirez's sister who was concerned he was suicidal. 

The 22-year-old's mother, Kristen Ramirez, says her son battled with anxiety and depression. She says Gabriel also had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of the autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The mourning mother did not elaborate what had triggered her son's suicidal episode but said he had experienced several situations like these in the past. 

"The very people who are to protect, murdered my son. My son was in a crisis and was needing help and needed people and they isolated him," she told WUSA9. 

Police Chief Peter Newsham said Gabriel became "more erratic" and pointed a handgun towards his officers. "The individual came to the fence line and pointed the weapon at the officers with the townhouses in their backdrop presenting a danger not only to the officers but others who may have been in those homes," Newsham said during a Thursday news conference after extending condolences to Gabriel's loved ones. 

"Whenever there is a situation where we believe that somebody's life or their personal safety is in imminent danger then officers are allowed to use fatal force, if necessary," Newsham added. 

Kristen questions why police did not allow her son's father, brother, and friends help officers during the negotiation to calm Gabriel down. "They wouldn't let family in. They wouldn't let him talk to friends. They isolated a person that needed people," Kristen said.

Newsham says that after being briefed by Gabriel's loved ones, police cleared the home and established a wide perimeter around the house because they knew he was armed. "There was a very high level of concern for the people, the folks who live in this community, that they didn't become a victim of the gunshot," he explained. 

Newsham says allowing family and friends get close to the scene and participate in the de-escalation tactics is not something that they would normally do when a person is armed. 

"All they did was provoke him all night long, poking a sleeping lion," Kristen said as she described the negotiation tactics used by Prince William County's Special Weapons and Tactics Team. Kristen says the officers used a speaker that produced distorted sound and a type of alarm that can be triggers for people with autism like Gabriel. 

Kristen says she explained to police officers that what would help her son calm down from the situation is giving him space. "I explained to police what exactly would work for him and they wouldn't listen," she said. 

Neighbors told WUSA9 that Gabriel asked officers several times for more space during the hours-long standoff. 

Newsham told reporters that the specialized tactics team obtained an emergency custody order over concerns for Gabriel's mental health and that a mental health specialist was not at the scene. When asked why the mental health expert was not a part of the police response, Newsham told reporters, "The negotiators have that training in the crisis intervention, but this is not a situation where we could have a clinician approaching this person. It was too dangerous."

Kristen says her son's case is the prime example of how law enforcement officers are not equipped to intervene in mental health crisis situations. She also says the Ramirez family was hesitant to get police involved in any of her son's episodes over concerns that the situation would turn violent. "They just wanted the crisis to be over and killed him," she added.

"Police officers here in Prince William County respond to folks in crisis almost on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times throughout the course of the day," Newsham said. 

Prince William County Police has requested an independent investigation into the deadly incident by the region's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).  According to Newsham, the independent police investigators will gather evidence including video and present it to the Commonwealth attorney who will determine if criminal charges will be filed against the officer who shot and killed Gabriel Ramirez. 

Newsham says there is some body-warn camera footage and that depending on the public's interest, that video could be released in, "several weeks." 

"I don't think he could comprehend how many people loved him," Kristen told WUSA9. She says her son had just started a new job and was about to receive his first paycheck. She describes Gabriel as a funny and creative young man that was unaware of the gifts he possessed.