California Highway Patrol Reaches $4M Settlement With Victim of a Murder-Suicide Involving a Former Officer
The plaintiff who brought a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol has reached a settlement with the agency totaling $4 Million.
The lawsuit was brought forward by a man named Trae deBeaubien. DeBeaubien was in a relationship with 42-year-old May Wheat, the estranged wife of CHP officer Brad Wheat. In September 2018, Officer Wheat used his service weapon to wound deBeaubien and then kill his wife before turning the gun on himself.
According to his lawsuit, deBeaubien detailed that the California Highway Patrol was in part responsible for the violent incident. He explains that Wheat had been stalking the couple and using the law enforcement's database to track the movements of the couple and “hunt him down.”
DeBeaubien also detailed in court documents that on August 3, 2018, Wheat had made a comment to his colleagues in law enforcement that he was planning to kill deBeaubien and end his own life. Despite these threatening comments, CHP explained in court documents that these statements did not amount to a crime. Still, officer Wheat was persuaded to leave his .40 caliber handgun at work and turn over two rifles and a shotgun before he took two weeks off of work.
Court papers also detail that two therapists that were assigned to Wheat by CHP concluded that the 11-year CHP veteran was not a threat to himself or others. As a result of their analysis, they concluded that Wheat would be able to carry out his duties. When we returned to work on August 20th, the agency reinstated his handgun and further stated that they did not have the authority to seize the gun.
Although CHP was made aware of the threatening comments and concerning behavior Wheat displayed, the agency did not alert his estranged wife or deBeaubien regarding Wheat’s remarks about hurting the couple. The therapists were also named in the lawsuit, and their insurance companies eventually paid out $975,000 as a result of their involvement.
Just two weeks after officer Wheat had returned to work, he ambushed the couple outside of deBeaubien’s business. Wheat shot out the front windows of deBeaubien's shop before he entered and shot deBeaubien in the chest. Wheat's wife was in the shop at the time and managed to grab ahold of her husband's gun and run outside with it. Wheat followed her, regained possession of the gun, and shot his wife three times before he turned the gun on himself. The couple is survived by four children.
The settlement came just days before the case was set for trial. DeBeaubien shared with the Sacramento Bee that he was “glad to finally be able to put this case behind him and glad that the CHP finally did the right thing in admitting they messed up.” He added that “hopefully, the CHP re-evaluate their procedures on officers with mental issues.”
