Family sues Charlotte police over ‘negligent’ killing of man with schizophrenia, psychosis
Sanrico Sanchez McGill’s family were expecting Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers to knock on their door after they called for help for a mental heath crisis. Instead, about a dozen lined their street and pointed rifles and handguns at them.
“What are you doing?” McGill’s mother and brother yelled toward officers, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. “This is mental health.”
McGill, 34, was suffering from bipolar schizophrenia and psychosis when his mom heard shots nearby. She called 911 asking for help. She’d filed an involuntary commitment order the previous day.
“We know,” one officer replied, according to court documents. “We have dealt with him a couple of times before.”
Within about two minutes of arriving at the Catherine Simmons Avenue home, officers shot and killed McGill in the doorway of the duplex. They fired 25 shots, missing 23 times, according to a 2024 report by the Mecklenburg district attorney. A shot to McGill’s chest killed him, according to an autopsy report.
Charlotte’s interim city attorney could not be reached for comment, and CMPD declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Last year, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said officers were “entirely reasonable” in shooting McGill. Police officers believed he was pointing a gun at them, the DA’s report said.
The lawsuit over the Dec. 16, 2023, shooting was filed by Greensboro attorney Nichad Davis on behalf of McGill’s mother, Demetrics McGill, and brothers, Cordario McGill and Demontrez Mobley.
In it, they allege the city of Charlotte and CMPD officers used “malicious, reckless, and unjustified use of deadly force.” It alleges they were negligent and “failed to de-escalate the situation” when they had to chance to.
According to the lawsuit, McGill had “made himself available” and was outside “displaying his hands” before he got a gun from inside. But the officers created a “standoff” by drawing weapons, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges police exasperated McGill’s mental state, didn’t communicate effectively and gave him conflicting commands.
In his 2024 review of the shooting, Merriweather wrote that his office “does not address issues relating to tactics, or whether officers followed correct police procedures or CMPD Directives.
“If no criminal charges are filed, that does not mean the District Attorney’s Office believes the matter was in all respects handled appropriately from an administrative or tactical viewpoint,” he wrote.
This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
