‘Family Demands Answers’

Posted on | August 1, 2026 | No Comments

Say hello to Bryan Axel Ramirez Gomez and, while you’re at it, go ahead and say good-bye, because young Mr. Gomez shuffled off this mortal coil in February, after deciding to start a shootout with police in Elkhart, Indiana, which lasted only three seconds. What do you notice about the photo of Gomez? Does that jersey signify that he was a fan of the Chicago White Sox? Well, Elkhart is only 112 miles from Chicago, and I suppose it’s possible that Gomez was a White Sox fan, but a quick Google search indicates that wearing White Sox regalia is common among certain gangs affiliated with the Crips. Just had to point this out.

Family of teen killed by Elkhart police seeks state investigation amid wave of violence

That was the headline from WNDU-TV, the NBC-owned affiliate in South Bend, about 20 miles from Elkhart, two days after the shooting:

The family of a 17-year-old killed by Elkhart police is calling for state investigators to take over the case as the community grapples with three separate shootings and a stabbing in a 48-hour span.
Bryan Axel Ramirez Gomez died Sunday around 2 a.m. in an officer-involved shooting. A memorial now sits at High Dive Park where he was killed.
Alfredo Ramirez-Gomez, the teen’s brother, spoke at a vigil for Bryan on Tuesday afternoon and demanded the release of police footage.
“Bryan was a bright kid, he was a member of this community, this is where he grew up,” Ramirez-Gomez said. “As for his cause of death, we can’t really point fingers yet. We just ask and demand that the footage comes out from the car and from the vest.”
He said the family will continue seeking answers until justice is served and asked the Indiana State Police to take over the case.

This kind of story — “Family Demands Answers” — has become a media cliché in recent years. Anytime someone gets killed by cops, there is automatically the insinuation that the cops did something wrong, and the media promote this narrative. Simple question: Why did the family want to get Indiana State Police to take over the case? Was there any reason to suspect bias on the part of county prosecutor Vicki Becker, whose office was in charge of investigating the officer-involved shooting?

Good luck finding any negative opinions about Becker, who has an excellent reputation and has been doing criminal prosecution since she was a law student interning with the prosecutor’s office in Indianapolis. My hunch is that the call for state involvement was just a way of insinuating that the investigation was crooked. In a GoFundMe appeal, a family friend wrote, “At only 17 years old, Bryan’s life was tragically cut short due to police brutality in Elkhart.” Really? You’re claiming “police brutality”? Superior marksmanship by cops may seem like an unfair advantage to criminals who lose shootouts, but it’s not brutality.

A month later, the theme continued:

Last month’s fatal shooting of a teenager by Elkhart police was one of the issues highlighted during Saturday’s No Kings rally.
Demonstrators were urged to sign a petition, calling for an independent review of the shooting of 17-year-old Bryan Ramirez Gomez. It also calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor and long-term accountability measures meant to restore trust in the justice system, among other requests.
Bella Chavez said the family has gotten hearsay about what happened but little actual information. “They haven’t even released the bodycam footage to the family who deserves answers and to the community who deserves answers,” Chavez told protesters.
Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker has said the boy shot first. So far, she hasn’t allowed video footage to be released.
“I would love to show all 13 minutes of that video,” Elkhart Police Chief Dan Milanese told the city’s police merit commission last week. “As soon as we can hit play, if we’re allowed to legally, I will hit play.”

Elsewhere, Bella Chavez’s speech at the “No Kings” rally was quoted: “We’re calling for justice in Elkhart. Justice for Bryan,” See, the normal operations of law enforcement are not “justice” if the outcomes aren’t satisfactory to activist types like Bella Chavez. Meanwhile, the county prosecutor announced the result of her investigation July 9:

The investigation documented evidence to establish that shortly after 1:30 a.m. on February 8, 2026, Elkhart Police Department Officer Ragsdale was driving past the area of High Dive Park pavilion and noticed a vehicle that was running while sitting stationary in the parking lot after the park was closed. . . .

(You’re sitting in a car in the closed park at 1:30 in the morning, when the temperature is 15°F. Definitely suspicious behavior.)

Officer Ragsdale pulled into the lot near the suspicious vehicle and observed several individuals inside, some appearing to be minors. Officer Ragsdale called for backup. While Officer Ragsdale was speaking to the driver, he noticed a scent he recognized as an alcoholic beverage prompting further investigation pursuant to Indiana law. EPD Officer Breneman arrived to provide back-up while Officer Ragsdale continued his work.

(So it appears that these minors are drinking in the park, which is closed. Call for backup. Standard operating procedure.)

Officer Ragsdale attempted to gather identifying information from each occupant of the vehicle, being led to believe that there were two individuals that were eighteen (18) and three individuals claiming to be juveniles, two males and one female. Officer Ragsdale then returned to his vehicle to determine whether there were any law enforcement notifications relating to any of the occupants.

(None of them were legally old enough to be drinking. Now, pay close attention to the next paragraph for important information.)

Although Officer Ragsdale did not know it at the time, the front seat passenger provided false information regarding his name during the investigation and was on probation after having being adjudicated Delinquent for both felony and misdemeanor offenses in Elkhart County Juvenile Court, the nature of which included Auto Theft, Resisting Law Enforcement, Dangerous Possession of a Firearm, and Disorderly Conduct . . .

(In case you haven’t guessed, the front-seat passenger with the extensive juvenile record was Bryan Gomez. He was already on probation, and just committed another crime by giving the cop a fake name.)

Upon removing the occupants of the vehicle, one by one to ensure safety and control, the eighteen (18) year old driver did not have any identification on him and advised “not right now” when asked if he had any weapons. As Officer Ragsdale continued to remove the backseat passengers from the driver’s side of the vehicle, the front seat passenger, who had previously been complying with officer directives to keep hands visible, was also directed to stay in the car, but reached down between his legs and refused to put his hand up when ordered.

(When you see video of this, you’ll be impressed with how well Officer Ragsdale handled this. He was busy getting passengers out of the backseat and yet was alert to the front-seat passenger the whole time, so he immediately noticed the danger when Gomez lowered his hands.)

The front passenger then abruptly turned, got out of the car on the passenger’s side, and fired a handgun toward Officer Breneman.
Both Officer Ragsdale and Officer Breneman fired their respective handguns in response. The front passenger was fatally shot during this event. A Glock 9mm handgun was on the ground near him. . . .
During the crime scene investigation in which crime scene specialists documented and recovered evidence related to the event, another handgun was found on the front passenger floorboard of the subject vehicle that had been modified to be fully automatic by what is known as a “switch”. A “switch” is an after-market attachment that converts a semi-automatic handgun to a fully automatic handgun which is illegal to possess pursuant to both State and Federal law.

There you have it. Already on probation, carrying a pistol, and a second pistol with an illegal “switch” at his feet, Gomez knew he was in trouble, and the only way he could think to get out of it was to kill both cops.

That plan didn’t work out too well for him. Gomez only got off one shot. Officer Breneman fired five shots, while falling backwards. Officer Ragsdale fired five shots before his pistol jammed. Gomez was hit by three shots — one to the head, one to the torso, one to the leg.

This all went down in three seconds. Neither of the officers nor the other passengers was hit. Those cops did some damned fine shooting.

That video is 19 minutes long, but if you watch it, you’ll see the part where they slow it down frame-by-frame to show where Gomez fires the first shot. Not that police in such a situation are obligated to let the bad guy shoot first before returning fire. If he’s got a gun and refuses to drop it when ordered? Good night, Irene. In this case, despite Gomez having the tactical advantage of firing the first shot, the two cops between them fired 10 shots in three seconds, and scored three hits.

The officers were justified, and as for the “family demands answer,” well, they got their answer — not the one they wanted. There won’t be any wrongful death lawsuit. Ben Crump won’t be showing up.

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