SPOKANE — A lawsuit filed by the family of a man shot and killed by a security guard last month on Bonneville Power Administration property alleges the guard chased down the man, along with his son, and initiated a physical altercation before shooting them.
The lawsuit describes the incident in a starkly different narrative than the one made by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the shooting.
The lawsuit states that John Franklin, 48, and his son, Brock, 19, were shot by Jordan McGhee on Sept. 30. McGhee was the guard employed by Inter-Con Security to provide security for BPA property.
McGhee has not been charged with any crimes related to the shooting death of John Franklin or the injuries to Brock Franklin. The incident as of Wednesday afternoon was still being investigated.
The lawsuit alleges that the Franklins were chased down by the guard after Brock Franklin bumped a no-trespassing sign with his pickup truck. Rather than call for police, the security guard activated the lights on his vehicle and pulled the Franklins over as they drove on a public street all because of a minor issue and escalated the situation multiple times, according to the lawsuit filed by the family’s attorney, Mary Schultz.
The guard assaulted John Franklin, and his son tried to protect him, the lawsuit alleges. That’s when the guard shot both men.
“This son tried to protect his father. And this father took a bullet for his son,” Schultz wrote in a text. “This is the greatest expression of love. There are heroes among us.”
The sheriff’s office said information gathered from witnesses, people involved in the altercation and evidence suggested the incident started when the two men were contacted by security for trespassing on the federal land, which was clearly marked by signage.
A “heated verbal exchange” between the security guard and one of the men escalated into a physical altercation, a news release said. The second man then started fighting with the armed security guard.
Witnesses told the sheriff’s office the two men appeared to be aggressive toward or fought with the guard, according to the sheriff’s office.
The guard then shot both men.
Statements from witnesses, security and the man who was hospitalized all “corroborated the main parts of what happened. We still continue to investigate to ensure the evidence and any other statements/witnesses show the same,” the sheriff’s office wrote early this month.
When contacted Wednesday, the security company issued a brief statement.
“Inter-Con has been made aware of this incident. We take this tragic loss of life very seriously and have been cooperating fully with law enforcement’s investigation,” according to the statement attributed to a company spokesperson and provided by company attorney Heather Bean. “Per Company policy, and given law enforcement’s active investigation into this matter, the Company declines to comment on this matter at this time.”
Conflicting claims
Franklin family members are motocross enthusiasts who ride as often as they can.
On Saturday, Sept. 30, Brock Franklin loaded his motorcycle into the bed of his truck intending to go ride up in the Mead area because the Airway Heights motocross park was closed, according to the lawsuit.
John Franklin’s bike needed repairs, but he went along with his son to keep him company.
When they arrived on East Hawthorne Road, they turned into a small gravel pullout to find a newly installed BPA no-trespassing sign.
The pair, along with others in the community, frequently ride on the mix of private and public land in the area, the lawsuit says.
Brock Franklin bumped the new sign with his truck, the lawsuit says.
Not long after, a security car drove past and then turned around and pulled in behind the Franklins’ truck with its lights activated.
Knowing the car was not a law enforcement officer and that he was on public land, Brock Franklin pulled onto East Hawthorne Road.
The security guard followed him at a rapid speed with his lights on. The lawsuit claims that the guard was on a public road and outside of his jurisdiction.
Brock Franklin pulled over into a BPA parking lot to avoid a traffic accident and as a “show of cooperation” with the security guard, according to the lawsuit.
The security guard pulled in behind the Franklins and got out of his car as though he was conducting a law enforcement traffic stop, the suit alleges.
The guard approached the Franklins’ vehicle, and John Franklin got out of the passenger seat to talk with the guard. The Franklins were unarmed.
The guard didn’t make any commands to the Franklins and instead “aggressively approached John and grabbed John by his left arm,” according to the lawsuit. John Franklin moved back and tried to get back into the passenger seat. That’s when the guard tried to “physically subdue” him outside of the truck.
The lawsuit alleges this was assault and battery because the guard did not have the authority to detain either of the Franklins for what was at most misdemeanor trespassing and minor property damage.
Brock Franklin got out of the truck in an attempt to diffuse the situation but got back in when told to by his father, according to the lawsuit. John Franklin again tried to get into the passenger seat before the guard knocked him to the ground.
That’s when his son again got out of the truck and shoved the guard off his father.
The lawsuit argues Brock Franklin used reasonable force to protect his father.
At no point did the guard tell the son he was trying to arrest his father or to stand back, the lawsuit alleges.
After being pushed off of John Franklin, the guard backed up to his vehicle and reached toward his belt.
Brock Franklin believed he was about to be pepper sprayed and turned away from the guard, who instead pulled out his semiautomatic handgun, according to the lawsuit.
John Franklin got up and stepped in front of his son as the guard fired four to five shots. He was shot in the chest and abdomen and died almost immediately, according to the lawsuit. Brock Franklin was hit in the abdomen and arm.
Following the shooting, the guard called for help at about 11:15 a.m. The guard did not attempt to give first aid to the Franklins.
The lawsuit claims that the guard illegally chased the Franklins down on a public road, assaulted them, used excessive force, intentionally inflicted emotional distress and wrongfully killed John Franklin.
Inter-Con Security, which operates extensively in the United States along with at least 14 other countries in Africa, South America and North America, had a duty to train and supervise the guard, the lawsuit says.
The company was negligent in training him, among other issues, the lawsuit argues.
