The family of a man shot and killed during a 2024 raid in his family's house has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Marshals Service seeking $150 million.
Zander Zephier, 23, died Nov. 27, 2024, just north of Wagner, about 40 minutes after deputy marshals arrived to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.
The civil lawsuit, which alleges a violation of Zephier's constitutional rights, comes after the Department of Justice rejected the federal torts claim the family filed in May, which would have settled the case without a lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that marshals “failed to coordinate with the Yankton Sioux Tribal Police, Tribal Criminal Investigators, or other tribal authorities prior to executing the warrant, in violation of DOJ directives governing operations in Indian Country," used excessive force when attempting to arrest Zephier and "severely traumatized" his great-grandmother, Conceta Zephier, who is wheelchair-bound and remained in the home while the raid was being conducted.
The government has 60 days to respond to the summons from Zephier’s family, which was filed on Feb. 4.
The Marshals Service and the Zephier family's attorney, Nicole Griese, did not respond to requests for comment.
Background on the case
On Nov. 27 2024, deputy marshals arrived to Zephier's family home north of Wagner at 8:37 a.m. About 30 minutes later, they began throwing gas grenades into the home. At 9:46 a.m., Zephier was pronounced dead at Wagner Community Memorial Hospital. His death certificate said he died primarily of a gunshot wound to the head and also had gunshot wounds in his back, chest and arm.
The deputy marshals were serving a warrant for Zephier's arrest. He was considered an escaped inmate from Charles Mix County Jail after leaving with permission for a family funeral in July and not returning.
Zephier's family did not dispute his criminal record, which included a federal conviction for abusive sexual contact with a minor but told News Watch in 2024 that his death should warrant an independent investigation.
"Why shoot him?" Zephier's grandmother, Jennifer, said at the time. "Why can't you tase him, you know, or find some other way of getting him to where you can handcuff him and take him to jail?"
Case claims delay of medical aid, 'visible suffering'
At the time of Zephier’s death, then-chairman of the Yankton Sioux Tribe Robert Flying Hawk sent a letter to the family that said the tribe would be seeking answers for the “terrible injustice.”
The current chairwoman of the tribe, Charlene Knudsen, did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The lawsuit states that the deputy marshals – who are still unnamed – spent 40 minutes from their arrival at the Zephier residence to Zephier's death. It says that the timeline is "sharply contrasting with other USMS operations involving barricaded subjects, which often last hours, involve negotiation, contacting back-up intra-agency law enforcement, and methods of de-escalation to prevent death."
The lawsuit also says that marshals delayed medical aid to Zephier while laughing and taking photos in the front yard of the residence where Zephier was shot, after shooting Zephier "despite visible suffering and non-threatening behavior."
"He deserved better than what happened to him here,” Zephier's brother, Zane, said during a vigil for Zander in late 2024. “Our people deserve better, and I want you all to know I'm not leaving any stone unturned. We're going to find the truth, and we're looking at every option until we find it. They will come to know that we as a people stand up for our families. And they will know that we will fight against injustice when it shows itself in our home."
Other lawsuits against US Marshals Service
Several lawsuits have arisen in the aftermath of officer shootings on tribal land nationwide – including one filed in North Dakota on Feb. 5 after a man was killed by a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
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Lawsuits against the Marshals Service are far less common, though. An investigation by the Marshall Project in 2021 found that while fatal shootings are more common among U.S. Marshals than other law enforcement agencies, lawsuits against the agency and its officers are comparatively far less frequent.
The Marshals Service, as an agency of the federal government, has sovereign immunity, which means the agency must consent to being sued. However, that immunity does not apply under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows individuals to sue federal employees for actions within their role, as long as negligence is a factor.
Molly Wetsch
Other lawsuits against the Marshals Service have faced long lead times and little legal resolution. The family of Brandon Webber, who was killed by U.S. Marshals in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2019, filed a lawsuit seeking $25 million in 2020. That case was dismissed in 2022, though it is possible that a settlement was reached outside of court.
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact reporter and Report for America corps member Molly Wetsch: 605-531-7382/molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.
