Protest: Mother wants 'Justice for Brian' Garber

MANSFIELD – She's not looking for the community to set fires or riot in the streets like those in Ferguson, Missouri, have done in recent weeks over the shooting death of an unarmed black teen, but Connie Garber said it's time for Richland County to protest for answers in the case of her slain son.

She's organizing a peaceful protest from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Aug. 28 in front of the Richland County Courthouse, 50 Park Avenue East. She asks protesters bring a sign with the message "Justice for Brian."

"I want national attention, because I think that's the only way we're going to get answers," Connie said Friday. "I'm hoping a lot of people come."

Connie's son, Brian Garber, was shot and killed by an unidentified Richland County Sheriff's deputy around 8:30 p.m. March 16, after his wife called 911 saying he had sent her text messages threatening that he had a gun.

Deputies contacted Brian in an upstairs bedroom in Connie's home, 3400 Mill Run Road in Lexington. Ultimately, deputies unleashed at least 16 bullets, killing Brian while he was sitting up in bed, according to previous reports.

Connie wants to know why.

"It's so disgusting," Connie said. "I'm looking for wrongful death charges to come out of this."

Brian's wife, Sara Knowlton, would not confirm whether she would participate in the protest. She said Friday that her lawyer has instructed her not to comment on any aspect relating to the case.

Involved agencies have not released any information about the events that led to Brian's death. Only the four deputies who rushed into the home were witness to what happened in that upstairs bedroom.

She hopes the protest will show investigators that she is serious about getting justice for what she calls the murder of her only son. At the very least, she said they owe her some kind of explanation, and fast.

Her questions remain the same, first and foremost, who killed her son?

The sheriff's office and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation — which is investigating the case — have been mum on that subject. All four deputies stationed in the home that night were placed on paid leave, but there has not been any information released about which of them fired weapons.

Deputy Jeff Frazier was the only officer identified by a sheriff's report as having to turn over clothing to BCI.

Connie also wants better answers from the sheriff's office about why it took so long for them to involve BCI and the coroner's office.

Sheriff Maj. Joe Masi previously said the office called BCI to take over the investigation almost immediately after the sheriff was notified about the shooting. It's common practice to have an outside agency take over the scene in shootings involving department employees, he said.

Judge Jerry Ault signed a search warrant giving BCI permission to search Brian's room at 12:55 a.m. the next day, according to records.

Masi also explained after the shooting that because they turned over the case to BCI, he expected them to call for the coroner. BCI previously said it is the responsibility of the first responding agency, in this case the sheriff's office, to call the coroner.

The Richland County Coroner's office wasn't notified about the shooting until 4:20 a.m. the next day. At the time, the coroner's investigator who responded to the scene, Tom Stortz, said it was the first case in his three years with the department that he had been called late to a scene.

Finally, Connie said her patience is running out for her son's autopsy report to be returned. She expects the report to show her son was shot 14 times, according to information provided to her by someone familiar with the case.

Gary Guenther, chief investigator for the Summit County Coroners Office, last week said the report should be done "anytime."

When the report is finished, it will go to BCI, who has been waiting on the information to finish their investigation. From there, the agency must turn over their findings to the Richland County Prosecutor's Office for review.

Whether or not the prosecutor files charges will determine when the information will be released to the public.

For her son's sake, Connie hopes that day is near.

"This protest will hopefully get answers to us sooner and get his murderers convicted," Connie said.

kdurbin@nncogannett.com

419-521-7205

Twitter: @njKaitlinDurbin