Two years after four Lauderhill police officers fatally gunned down a knife-wielding 21-year-old schizophrenic man at his front door, a Broward County grand jury has cleared them of any wrongdoing.
The four officers fired 41 shots in six seconds, hitting Cedric Telasco 20 times, including once in the head, the grand jury's report said.
Telasco's family is "horrified" by the police officers' actions and "upset" by the grand jury's finding and will press forward with a wrongful-death lawsuit, their attorney said Thursday.
Telasco called 911 in the early hours of March 29, 2011, and summoned police to his home in the 7100 block of Northwest 49th Court, where he was armed with a kitchen knife and ignored orders to put the knife down, according to a grand jury report.
The grand jury concluded that the appearance of danger justified the use of deadly force.
As a result, none of the officers -- Roby Brand, Shawn Blair, Michael Cella and Kevin Morgan -- will face criminal charges.
"Obviously, the family is outraged by the conduct of the police officers in this case, who killed Cedric Telasco," attorney John de Leon said. "He was a young man who had his entire future ahead of him."
Until recently, the family did not know the officers' names or how many times Telasco had been shot.
The city withheld the information for two years citing the open investigation and pending grand jury decision.
Telasco's mother, Nadege Lanoue, in March filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against the city and the officers for the wrongful death of her son.
"While we're upset by the determination by the grand jury, we're proceeding with the lawsuit," de Leon said. "We're trying to achieve justice for the young man who was killed and for the family."
Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan deemed Telasco's killing a clear case of suicide by cop.
"It's a tragic situation; we wish it did not happen," Kaplan said Thursday. "The original conclusion by the city was that it was suicide by police. The grand jury has supported that conclusion."
When Telasco called 911 after 1:30 a.m. he reported that a man with a knife was standing in his doorway and said "just come and do what you have to do." The description he gave was of himself.
Telasco ignored numerous demands to drop the knife and came within 15 feet of Officer Cella waving the knife in "a threatening manner," according to the grand jury's June 19 report.
"[All four officers] fired their department-issued weapons based upon the reasonable fear that Officer Michael Cella was in life-threatening danger due to the actions of Cedric Telasco," the report said.
Brand, who fired 15 rounds, had been with the department only three months at the time of the shooting.
Morgan, who fired five shots, had been with the agency 14 months.
And Cella and Blair, who fired 11 and 10 rounds respectively, had each been with the department about four years.
Telasco's disheartening diagnosis of schizophrenia came three and a half years before his slaying, his mother said.
And just one day before the Broward College student and 2007 graduate of Nova High was killed, a doctor had made an adjustment to his medication, she said.
The lawsuit claims Telasco "did not pose an immediate lethal threat to the officers" and that police were on notice about his mental illness because of previous calls from the address.
"The improper training and actions of the police department are directly responsible for the death of this young man," de Leon, the attorney, said.
Police Chief Andrew Smalling disputed the notion that his officers were negligent, poorly trained or ill equipped to deal with someone with mental-health issues.
"Nobody wants to take a life; that's our last resort," Smalling said Thursday afternoon. "The officers gave the young man multiple opportunities to cease and desist. He was armed, and really, he gave the officers no choice."
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