ST. LOUIS 鈥 Police officers shot a man in the back and then lied about the fatal encounter during the investigation, a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon says.
Taylor Lee Shomaker, 32, was shot and killed during a 90-minute standoff with police Nov. 19, 2022, in O鈥橣allon, Missouri.
Kelly Surtin, his mother, filed the lawsuit, which says Shomaker was shot when he left the house during the standoff to let his dog, Ela, out of a car. The lawsuit says the negotiator, who was texting with Shomaker, told him that was OK to do so, and officers would 鈥渂e calm.鈥
Taylor Lee Shomaker pictured with his dog, Ela, in an undated family photo. Shomaker, 32, was shot and killed during a 90-minute standoff with police Nov. 19, 2022, in O鈥橣allon, Mo.
Seconds after he left the house, officers fired shots, the suit says.
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鈥淭he videos will show that this is a textbook example of the misuse of deadly force by police officers,鈥 attorney J.C. Pleban said. 鈥淭his tragedy occurred after officers fired 19 shots at a 32-year-old man who was walking to his car to let out his dog.鈥
The suit names several involved police officers and their respective municipalities: St. Peters, St. Charles and O鈥橣allon, Missouri.
O鈥橣allon spokesperson Tony Michalka said the city does not comment on pending litigation. St. Peters and St. Charles did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
St. Charles County, which oversees the multi-jurisdictional SWAT team that responded, said on Thursday it was aware that a lawsuit had been filed and officials were reviewing the allegations.
Police, at the time of the shooting, said the standoff began when officers were called to the 700 block of Longfellow Circle at about 2:35 p.m. They had received a report that Shomaker had threatened his parents and was armed with a handgun, which had been fired.
Surtin and Shomaker鈥檚 stepfather left the area uninjured.
Then, Shomaker barricaded himself inside the home and the St. Charles County Regional SWAT team arrived with negotiators, police said.
Police at the time said Shomaker came in and out of the home several times during the standoff. The suit does not mention that.
鈥淗e says he has PTSD but he鈥檚 not a veteran so that鈥檚 not a thing,鈥 an officer said to another cop while outside the home, the lawsuit says.
Shortly after 4 p.m., Shomaker texted the negotiator to say that he was coming outside, with his gun, the suit says.
鈥淚鈥檓 coming out to let my dog out,鈥 Shomaker鈥檚 text said, according to the suit. 鈥淚 am armed. Be calm.鈥
The negotiator told the officers he was coming outside, according to body camera footage the suit describes.
The suit says the negotiator did not tell Shomaker to leave his gun inside, did not tell him to remain in the house and did not say that he would be shot by police if he came outside.
鈥淩ather, he told Mr. Shomaker 鈥業鈥檓 not here to hurt you,鈥欌 the suit says.
Shomaker came out 鈥渃almly,鈥 the suit says, with a gun in his hand pointed toward the ground. He began to walk toward a Honda Civic parked on the street at the end of the home鈥檚 driveway.
鈥淗e did not make any threatening movements towards any officers, who were concealed at various locations, while walking down the driveway to his car,鈥 the suit says.
Officers then began yelling at him to drop the gun, the suit says. Shomaker then pointed to his car and said, 鈥淚鈥檓 letting my dog out.鈥
Seconds after officers told him to drop the gun, and before he could reach the car, one officer fired five shots at Shomaker, the suit says. No one else fired their guns at that time, including Shomaker, the suit says.
鈥淗e continued to point the gun towards the ground, remained calm, and continued walking towards the rear-passenger door of his car,鈥 the lawsuit says of Shomaker. 鈥淗e did not make any threatening movements towards and police officers at the scene.鈥
He let Ela, the dog, out of the back of the Honda, while his gun was still pointed toward the ground, the suit says. Then five officers opened fire.
Shomaker was hit at least 11 times all over his body, including a fatal shot to his back, the suit says. He was later pronounced dead.
Shomaker returned fire once he had been shot, Pleban, the attorney, said.
His parents were at a command post nearby when Shomaker was killed.
鈥淢r. and Ms. Surtin were able to clearly hear the gunfire at their residence,鈥 the suit says. 鈥淪hortly thereafter, Mr. and Ms. Surtin were misled by the police officers that Mr. Shomaker exited the house and immediately began firing his weapon at police officers. That never happened.鈥
The suit claims the officers鈥 post-shooting reports 鈥渋nclude factually incorrect and purposely untrue statements.鈥 In their statements, they said Shomaker turned toward them and posed a deadly threat.
The police reports, the suit says, also fail to mention the first five shots fired by police. The suit also claims that a failure to establish a proper command when arriving to the home resulted in crossfire created by officers.
Surtin鈥檚 lawsuit claims the police used excessive force, failed to train their officers, were negligent and violated Shomaker鈥檚 Constitutional rights.
Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Shomaker returned fire after cops shot him.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture tens of thousands of images every year. See some of their best work that was either taken in June 2025 in this video. Edited by Jenna Jones.
