The Real Housewives of Orange County alum Lydia McLaughlin and her family are planning to take legal action following the death of her brother Geoffrey Stirling.
According to attorney James S. Terrell — who is representing McLaughlin, 44, as well as her father Scott Stirling and brother Jesse Stirling — the family is exploring their legal options against the city of Newport Beach and its police department, as well as the officer involved with the shooting.
“All the family wants is to find out what happened to their brother and their son,” Terrell exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, May 8. “Next thing they want to see is if they can get justice for him and not just for him but for everyone like him and pulled over in a similar situation.”
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According to Terrell, the family has already contacted a police policy and practices expert who has reviewed the dash cam footage. They also plan to file a governmental court claim in California in order to bring a lawsuit against the city and police department.
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The family has also conducted an independent autopsy, according to attorney Sharon Brunner, who is also working with the Stirling family.
“Initial impressions are that he bled out so we know that is an issue,” Brunner said. “There is concern about if there were shots to his back.”
“The family is totally devastated and totally crushed,” Terrell added. “It’s bigger than this wonderful young man who their family loved. The only way to get what really happened is through the court system.”
On Wednesday, May 7, the Newport Beach Police Department released a criminal incident community briefing video — including body cam footage — detailing the events surrounding an officer-involved shooting that occurred on April 17 with Geoffrey.
“The Newport Beach Police Department remains committed to transparency and accountability in all of its operations,” said the department in a statement. “The release of this video is part of our ongoing efforts to keep the community informed and engaged.”
In the briefing video, Sergeant Steve Oberon explained that an officer-involved shooting occurred after “Mr. Stirling struck the officer several times in the head and then removed the officer’s taser from his duty belt.”
Dash cam footage viewed by Us Weekly showed an officer asking Geoffrey to sit on the curb away from his motorcycle after being pulled over for allegedly running a red light.
“I don’t want to sit down or come here,” Geoffrey replied before trying to reach for his own ID. “Don’t shoot me.”
When the officer appeared to turn his back briefly to get on his radio, Geoffrey seemingly lunged toward him before an altercation between the parties occurred.
At one point, Geoffrey seemingly grabbed the cop’s taser and pointed it at the cop. The officer then shot him six times, according to the Stirling family. Geoffrey was later transported to a hospital where he died at the age of 45.
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In the briefing video, Chief Dave Miner shared that with all officer-involved shootings, “an independent agency will conduct their own independent investigation.”
After viewing the body cam footage, Terrell said his clients believe the officer could have handled the situation differently.
“[The officer] already had backup coming to him, [so] why did he go aggressively on him?” Terrell asked. “Escalating it and charging him is not using his skills and tools he’s trained to do. He had help coming, he didn’t need to attack him. There are so many things he could have done.”
Terrell believes the officer could have maced Geoffrey or taken a taser out himself and asked the individual to “stand right there and wait.”
“You can hear a siren, his backup is coming,” Terrell added. “That would have been a good thing to do. They had some dialogue and sometimes that is all you need. Running over to him is escalating. It’s win or lose when you do that, and it’s not a good option. It’s a very bad option.”
“Oversimplifying it would be he didn’t comply and had the taser possibly in his hand and was using it as a threat to the officer,” Brunner continued.
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“Based on the first interaction with the officer, [Geoffrey] was not acting normal. The officer clued in something was happening,” she said, adding he called for assistance. “The first one to escalate physical contact was definitely the officer.”
On Sunday, May 4, McLaughlin and her family laid Geoffrey to rest at a private memorial service. The intimate burial service came six months after McLaughlin mourned the death of her mom Judy Stirling from a private battle with cancer.
“
My heart is broken, and the shock still hasn’t settled 
,” McLaughlin wrote via Instagram on Monday, May 5. “But even in the sorrow, I cling to what I know is true: God is good. He is in control. I am not. My brother is now with my mom, and I hold onto the promise that one day, we’ll all be reunited. Until then, I will miss them every single day. 
.”
Us Weekly
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