The family of Carlos Enriquez has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit accusing Chula Vista police of using excessive force when officers fatally shot the 56-year-old veteran during a standoff outside his Bonita home. Relatives say Enriquez, a retired Navy corpsman who they describe as being in the middle of a mental-health crisis, was hit multiple times when officers opened fire.
Federal suit filed in San Diego
According to federal court records, the Enriquez family filed the case in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Dec. 30, 2025. The plaintiffs listed include Maria Enriquez, Aleyna Enriquez, Miguel Enriquez and the estate of Carlos Enriquez. The complaint names the City of Chula Vista along with several department officials and officers as defendants, as reflected in the Justia docket.
How police say the confrontation unfolded
Police say officers responded to a family disturbance call in the predawn hours of April 19, 2025, in the 1400 block of Country Vistas Lane. According to the department, Enriquez walked out of the home with his hands in his pockets, then dropped a firearm on the front steps. Officers say they fired a beanbag shotgun and later opened fire with live rounds after Enriquez picked up a weapon and raised it. The department deployed an armored vehicle and a drone during the standoff, according to reporting by 10News.
What the lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit paints a very different picture. The complaint argues Enriquez was intoxicated and experiencing a mental-health crisis related to his military service, and it contends he was not pointing the weapon at officers and lacked the capacity to do so. Attorneys for the family say they were allowed to view raw video of the encounter but were not permitted to make copies. The suit accuses the department of failing to de-escalate the situation, according to details described by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Officers' records and community reaction
Family attorneys and veterans groups have highlighted prior incidents involving some of the officers who fired on Enriquez, arguing those records raise serious questions about whether the department is properly trained for mental-health crises. Local VFW members and Enriquez relatives have publicly pressed officials for transparency and for the release of body-camera and drone footage of the shooting, as reported by the Times of San Diego.
Legal claims and what comes next
The complaint brings civil-rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and includes a demand for a jury trial. Court listings show the case is active in the Southern District of California. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has previously reviewed the shooting and, according to local reporting, declined to file criminal charges against some of the officers, a decision the family’s lawyers note does not prevent them from seeking civil remedies. The initial filing and parties are detailed in the Justia docket.
As the lawsuit moves forward in federal court, the Enriquez family says it wants accountability and a fuller public record of what unfolded that morning. The case now slots into a broader local debate about policing, mental-health response and officers’ use of high-powered rifles during neighborhood encounters.
