Susan Teel with her daughter, Sara Gordon (left) and granddaughter, Isobel (right).
Lucas Daprile, lucas.daprile@tcpalm.com
FORT PIERCE — Relatives of Susan Teel, fatally shot by an Indian River County sheriff's deputy in her home just more than a week ago, are not pushing for the deputy to be criminally charged in the shooting, the family's lawyer said Friday.
Stuart-based attorney Guy Rubin, of Rubin & Rubin, said Friday the family is seeking "fairness, transparency and integrity." He declined to say whether he's considering a civil lawsuit.
"We don't want to put the cart in front of the horse," Rubin said during a news conference he called in front of the St. Lucie County Courthouse, a central location for those attending. He said he's waiting to see the investigation results.
The Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office are conducting separate investigations into the events surrounding the shooting. A grand jury will determine whether criminal charges should be brought.
Deputy Jonathan Lozada responded to Teel's Carriage Lake Way home southwest of Vero Beach the night of July 26 after a 911 call about Susan Teel, 62, cutting her wrists in a suicide attempt. The Sheriff's Office reported she lunged at Lozada with a butcher knife and the deputy shot her, killing her.