SAN DIEGO, CA — The family of a 72-year-old Alpine man who was fatally shot in his home by a San Diego County sheriff's deputy has filed a lawsuit against the county.
Deputies entered Robert Liddell's home on Nov. 5, 2025 and encountered Liddell, who had been sleeping and was disoriented after the lawmen shined bright flashlights in his eyes, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in San Diego federal court.
Liddell, who was "startled awake by the presence of intruders in his home," was holding a BB gun when the deputies approached, the lawsuit states.
One of the deputies, Jordi Herrera, shot Liddell four times. He died later at a hospital.
According to the lawsuit, deputies responded after a neighbor called police and stated she knocked on Liddell's front door, which she said caused it to almost open.
The lawsuit notes the woman "reported no crime, no violence, no weapon, no injury and no sound of distress."
Herrera and fellow deputy Christopher Kleppe responded and found the home's front door shut, but went inside.
The lawsuit alleges that rather than turn the home's lights on, they traversed the residence in the dark with their flashlights on.
Video footage released by law enforcement showed that about 30 seconds after they entered, Liddell emerged from a room with the imitation pistol in his hand and said, "Get the (expletive) out."
As Kleppe took refuge in a room and the resident pointed his replica gun toward that interior doorway, the deputies shouted at him to drop it, and moments later Herrera fired four rounds at Liddell, sending him collapsing to the floor.
The lawsuit, which names San Diego County and the two deputies as defendants, alleges the lawmen entered the home without a warrant, without announcing their presence or identifying themselves as law enforcement, and did not try to de-escalate the situation or use less-than-lethal options.
County officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
— City News Service
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