he possessed no weapon. Then he pulled a prescription anti-anxiety pill out of his pocket and placed it in his mouth, after which the tone of the conversation shifted dramatically. "What did you just stick in your mouth?" McWhorter asked Ward. Then, without waiting for Ward to respond, McWhorter dragged Ward out of the car and tossed him to the ground. Ward responded that "it was a pill," after which three gunshots could be heard in the footage. McWhorter and his partner confirmed with each other was the other wasn't injured, neither of which administered aid to Ward lying wounded in the snow. Ward was declared dead at the site. Aftermath McWhorter, the deputy who fatally shot Richard Ward three times in the chest, subsequently stated that he thought Ward was reaching for his gun. In October 2022, Colorado's 10th Judicial District Attorney J.E. Chostner, eventually ruled that McWhorter's shooting of Ward was justified. Ward's mother, Kristy Ward Stamp said the loss has "broken" her heart. Ward's mother and the defense attorney for his family showed their disgust with how the Pueblo sheriff's office handled Richard Ward's killing. "This was nothing short of state-sanctioned murder of a citizen who should not have been arrested, let alone killed in broad daylight," said the Ward family's attorney, Darold Killmer, in a statement according to the Washington Post. Award to the deputy On 17 February 2023, Charles McWhorter was awarded his second purple heart by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office for allegedly sustaining injuries to his forehead, fingers, back, knee, and neck while shooting and killing Richard Ward three times at close range on February 22, 2022. He earned the award four days before Ward's family launched a wrongful death case against him and his organization in federal court. The family attorney stated that Ward's family were not aware about the award when they filed the complaint. Killmer added that the award was "truly a brazen act which mocks the very purpose of a Purple Heart." Lawsuit Ward's family opened "a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging improper use of force" on 21 February 2023. See also Killing of Tyre Nichols List of school shootings in the United States (2000–present) References 2022 controversies in the United States 2022 deaths 2023 controversies in the United States February 2022 events in the United States Filmed killings by law enforcement Killings by law enforcement officers in the