Sister Seeks $40 Milion in Wrongful Death of Aaron Shaw
Covington County Sheriff's Department Deputy Chris Inabinett, CCSO Captain Walter Inabinett and the City of Florala have been named as defendants in a federal lawsuit filed late this week. The suit is being brought by the sister of a man who one of the above law enforcement officials allegedly shot to death last fall, on October 28, 2004. Margaret Shaw Henderson, acting on behalf of the estate of Aaron Shaw, retained counsel in Montgomery to file the civil suit, which alleges assault, battery, negligence and municipal liability on the part of Florala, among other items. "Essentially, the allegations are that Mr. Shaw was taken into police custody, beaten at least two times ... at several locations by several officers," said Attorney Jay Lewis, lead counsel for the prosecution in this case. "We contend that Chris Inabinett and Walt Inabinett used excessive force and they denied (Shaw) his rights to due proceedings." The suit, which is set to go before a jury in the U.S. District Court System, alleges that the deceased 47-year-old black male resident of Florala was "savagely" beaten and subjected to "unreasonable and excessive force" during the process of the man's arrest. Henderson's complaint also asserts that Shaw was denied his constitutional rights and that the named defendants acted "in a neglectful, unskillful, and careless manner as compared with other police officers under the same or similar conditions," and that Shaw was killed "as a direct and proximate result" of the officials' alleged actions. Compensatory and punitive damages being sought by the plaintiff total $40 million. [more]
- Witnesses say Shaw was beaten after he was cuffed. One
of those witnesses was city councilman Grady Hobbs. "So, I walked
across the field there, and I looked over there and there was three
officers on him. One was trying to kick his his feet in the car where
he could get into the car, and the other one had his head, bumping it"
(on the side of the patrol car).
- Police Murder Black Man in Alabama [more]
- Suspicious Death Leads To Community Outrage [more]