Every daughter deserves a lifetime of being daddy’s little girl. Unfortunately, the 1-year-old daughter of a St. Louis man fatally shot and killed by police will never have that chance. Attorneys for the toddler recently filed a wrongful death suit in federal court against the accused police officer and the St. Louis Police Board.
According to the police report, when officers approached the victim’s parked car near a local restaurant, he reached for something, and police officers opened fire. A car chase ensued, and the officers pursued the man in their SUV for about one mile before he crashed his vehicle, seriously injuring himself and disabling the car. The officers claimed the victim again reached under the seat, at which point the police shot at him again.
The officers in this case claimed they suspected a drug transaction, though it’s not clear why police had that suspicion. According to their own account, they never once actually saw a gun in the victim’s hands, yet the police discharged their weapons several times. The mother of the man’s daughter was on the phone with the victim at the time of the shooting, and the mother said she heard him begging for his life.
Attorneys trying to prove the shooting was unprovoked and unlawful will examine the police SUV’s surveillance video of the incident. An OnStar audio recording activated by the crash of the victim’s vehicle will also be an importance piece of evidence for the plaintiff.
The FBI, U.S. Attorney’s office and lawyers for the Police Officer’s Association have been called in for back-up to defend the officer.
Source: stltoday.com, “Daughter of St. Louis police shooting victim files federal suit,” Robert Patrick, Feb. 6, 2012