At a press conference, the teen's mother, Maribel Michaca, recounted what she says happened the night of June 14, when she watched officers shoot her son, Jaden.
"He did not deserve to die the way he did," she said.
Michaca said her son had been dealing with mental health issues for two years and that Santa Ana police had responded to their home several times before.
"He had bipolar. He had mental crisis. There's a few diagnoses. I can't remember all of them on top of my head, but Santa Ana PD had record of all of this," she said.
According to Michaca, the family called police that night seeking help because Jaden was having an episode. She said they expected a crisis or psychiatric team to respond. Jaden was holding a knife at the time.
"My fiancé was trying to defend me to get the knife away from my son. We were trying to deescalate the situation by forcing both of them. He got cut, but it was not intentionally," she said.
Police confirmed they had responded to the Michaca residence several times in the past, but said the officers who arrived the night of June 14 were unaware of Jaden's mental health history.
According to the department, it was Michaca's fiancé who called 911, reporting a family disturbance, saying the teen was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and vandalizing property. Officers learned the fiancé had been stabbed.
Officer Natalie Garcia, a public information officer with the Santa Ana Police, said officers heard arguing inside the home when they arrived.
"The officers that responded were not aware that Jaden was suffering from some type of mental health crisis," Garcia said. "The officers breach that door, encounter Jaden and see that he's still armed with a knife. Despite deescalating the situation, Jaden does not drop the knife and that's when the officer-involved shooting occurs."
The family's attorneys said they are seeking an undisclosed amount of money and allege negligence and unjustified use of deadly force.
"Instead of focusing on getting this child of 15 years old the help that he needed, they focused on shooting him and killing him," said attorney Michael Carrillo.
Police said they plan to release body camera footage within the next three weeks. Santa Ana PD's internal affairs division, homicide unit and investigators from the Orange County District Attorney's Office are each conducting an independent investigation of the incident.