‘He did not deserve to die.’ Sister of man fatally shot by police in Sumner speaks out

It has been almost a week since 35-year-old Gabriel Renteria was fatally shot by police in Sumner during a mental health crisis.

Renteria was the fourth of six siblings who are part of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. He had just turned 35 on Aug. 10, his sister, Vanessa Mowat, told The News Tribune. She said that she and her siblings have a close relationship, and that when she learned of Renteria’s death, her heart shattered.

Sumner police were dispatched at 6:34 p.m. on Sunday to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train tracks near Harris Street and Traffic Avenue for a crisis call. Washington State Patrol, the Puyallup Police Department, Bonney Lake Police Department and a civilian crisis responder provided assistance, The News Tribune previously reported .

Police said that the man in crisis was armed with a knife. Officers used less-than-lethal weapons such as a bean bag, a 40 mm round and pepper balls to get him to drop the knife, according to the Pierce Force Investigation Team in a news release.

Members of the Sumner, Puyallup and Bonney Lake police departments fired shots at 8:34 p.m. Officers attempted life-saving measures, the release said. Paramedics and firefighters also attempted to save his life, but Renteria died at the scene.

All involved officers were put on administrative leave, per department policies. PCFIT is investigating the shooting. Once the investigation is complete, it will deliver reports to the prosecutor’s office which will determine if the shooting was justified, according to a spokesperson on Friday.

It is not publicly known how many officers were involved. It is also unclear what led up to the shooting and why police used lethal force.

Mowat said she believes the shooting was not justified and wants justice for her brother.

“My brother had been having a mental [health] issue since my mother passed away,” she said. “So he was only 16 years old when my mother got hurt, and he hasn’t been OK ever since, and he sometimes he talks to himself, but he doesn’t harm people.”

Mowat’s mother, Velma Tirado, was shot in August 2006 in downtown Tacoma. Brandon Lee Farmer was convicted and sentenced for first-degree murder, The News Tribune previously reported .

After not hearing from Renteria since the weekend, Mowat said her sister called hospitals and jails in hopes of finding him. It was not until she saw the news reports that her sister realized it was Renteria who was killed.

“When I heard this, I was like, ‘No, this can’t be true. It’s not true. The cops are the ones that protect us. Why did they kill my brother?’” she said.

Renteria died from multiple gunshot wounds and his manner of death was listed as a homicide, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Mowat said that her brother has had a hard life since their mother’s death, and last year their sister died. Renteria has a 2009 conviction for first-degree assault and second-degree robbery conviction from 2014, court records show.

“But that day, he didn’t hurt nobody. He wasn’t bothering people. I don’t understand why they came there and shot him to death,” Mowat said.

On Thursday, Mowat said she met with a detective to get more details about what happened. They learned he was walking on the train tracks, and a man told him he could not not be there. 911 was called after Renteria did not leave.

Mowat said that the detective had not reviewed the video evidence from the shooting and could not tell her why police shot her brother. She believes if the police did not want to kill her brother, they would have just shot him in the foot.

“To me, it doesn’t matter if somebody is not like mentally there, but they still are a person. They don’t deserve to get shot so many times like they’re an animal,” she said.

Mowat said she and her family are planning a vigil on Saturday at 7 p.m. on the train tracks where her brother died. She is also having a food sale at 1802 East 35th St. at 11.am. to help provide funds for Renteria’s funeral.

“He is very loved,” Mowat said. “If you see him, he looks pretty scary, but he’s a teddy bear guy. He’s kind, loving and caring. He just had a hard life, and he didn’t need to die like that.”