Family of teen shot, permanently injured by rec center worker sues St. Paul

The mother of a teenager shot by a recreation center employee in St. Paul last year, leaving him with a permanent traumatic brain injury, is suing the city for medical bills and damages.

Margarita Davison, the mother of JuVaughn Turner, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court. Davison and her attorneys allege that the city of St. Paul and 27-year-old Exavir Binford broke her son’s constitutional rights when Binford shot Turner in the head during a physical altercation last year. They said the city should pay for damages and medical expenses and have asked that the suit be resolved through a jury trial in federal court. Turner, who was 16 at the time, underwent numerous surgeries and accrued more than $50,000 in medical expenses to survive the shooting. But documents say the incident caused a traumatic and irreversible brain injury.

“[JuVaughn] sustained serious and permanent injuries that will affect every aspect of his life,” the lawsuit read, “including but not limited to his physical and cognitive functions, his ability to work and hold a job, his ability to maintain relationships, and his ability to carry out basic day-to-day functions, and otherwise enjoy a ‘normal’ and fulfilling life.”

Andrew Marshall, a lawyer for the Bassford Remele law firm representing Davison, said Turner’s mother was forced to quit her job so she could take care of her son.

“It is outrageous and unacceptable that the person causing harm in this case was a representative of the City, whose goal should have been to protect [Turner], rather than trying to kill him. What is particularly troubling about this case is that the City of St. Paul had ample notice that Binford had violent tendencies that put children visiting the recreation center at risk,” Marshall said in a statement. “Both [Turner] and his mother have suffered a great deal as a result of the shooting and [he] has a long road ahead in his recovery. [Turner] and his mother are hopeful that they can work with the City to resolve this case and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.”

Binford is accused of shooting Turner after a fight in the parking lot of the Jimmy Lee Rec Center last January. He said he felt threatened at the time and shot Turner after the teen asked someone to “bring all the sticks.” Binford assumed that meant to bring weapons, and he fired at Turner after he and another teen allegedly jumped him.

Binford was charged with attempted murder, and pled guilty to first-degree assault for the incident on Dec. 11. Prosecutors intend to seek a 10 1/2 year prison sentence for Binford, who is in custody with the Minnesota Department of Corrections. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9.

City leaders were quick to respond to the shooting, revealing that Binford had worked on an “on-and-off basis” for St. Paul since 2013. Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez announced they would end Binford’s employment, and Mayor Melvin Carter called for an audit of recreation center policies after rumors of other incidents with Binford surfaced on social media.

“To call this incident unusual would be an enormous understatement. It is a wholly unprecedented occurrence, which has literally never happened before in our city’s nearly 170 years of existence,” Carter said in a previous interview. “It is our duty — it is our resolve — to take every possible step to ensure that it never, ever happens again.”

Davison’s lawsuit suggests those rumored incidents are proof that St. Paul knew their employee was dangerous but did little about it.

Charging documents show that Binford worked at the Arlington Rec Center for four years before transferring to Jimmy Lee. Davison’s lawsuit claims that Binford got into a fight with a visitor at Arlington on Dec. 3, 2019, punching them several times. Binford explained that he thought the visitor had a weapon and that he “reacted out of self-defense” in fear of his and others’ safety. The suit says officials responded by suspending him for five days and saying his actions “have the potential to put other recreation center participants, visitors and staff at risk of bodily harm.”

He transferred to the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in August 2022, but Davison’s suit claims that Binford threatened to shoot a 17-year-old months later. According to the suit, the teen and her friends got into a disagreement with Binford that escalated into threats.

“His exact words were, ‘I will Swiss cheese y’all,’ which to my knowledge that means he was going to put multiple holes in them. He was going to shoot them,” the 17-year-old’s mother stated in the lawsuit.

She allegedly told the city what happened shortly after Binford threatened her daughter, but heard nothing back. The lawsuit alleges that St. Paul failed to properly train Binford and other employees, moving its problem staff to other locations as part of “an official city policy, practice or custom.”

St. Paul city spokesperson Kamal Baker confirmed Friday that officials received the complaint. Baker said the document is under review, and the city’s response will be provided to the court.

Search warrant documents filed by St. Paul police said their investigation uncovered a history of negative interactions between Binford and youth visiting the recreations centers he worked for. That sergeant recovered disciplinary letters, a signed disclosure form, and three videos from the Arlington Rec Center dated for Dec. 3, 2019 — the day Binford allegedly punched a visitor multiple times.

Davison and her lawyers expect research into the exact cost of medical expenses and number of witnesses could take eight months to complete. They could enter mediation with the city to discuss an agreement or settlement before going to trial. Otherwise, they have proposed launching the trial on Nov. 4.