Last month former Bengals running back David "Deacon" Turner was shot and killed by Kern County Sheriff Deputies outside of an east Bakersfield convenience store. Roughly a week later an investigation by a shooting review board ruled that the use of lethal force was justified:
It all started about 12:45 a.m. on July 10, at the Fastrip store at Niles Street and Mt. Vernon Avenue, when deputies confronted Turner, who they thought may be buying alcohol for minors. Turner was detained in the parking lot with his 19-year-old son and a 16-year-old juvenile. But as deputies began to investigate, they say he picked up his two grocery bags and tried to walk off. Sheriff Youngblood said Turner had two warrants out for his arrest, and that may be why he became aggravated. A deputy went after him and hit him in the lower legs with a baton. That's when they say Turner struck Deputy Aaron Nadal in the head, and his beat partner Wesley Kraft shot him.
Turner's own children were arrested later for threats made to deputies, with additional charges with gang affiliations while the family reportedly hired Johnnie Cochran's firm, who are now filing civil right violation charges against the Kern County sheriff's deputies.
Lawyers for the family of David Lee Turner, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1978 to 1980, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday claiming that deputies improperly searched the 56-year-old Bakersfield resident and used unreasonable force on him.