- Police Brutality Watch

ALL White Jury to hear Robert Thomas Sr.'s Case

The venue is different, a new jury has been seated and the burden of proof is substantially easier to meet. But almost three years after a white, off-duty King County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a black motorist, the stories on each side essentially remain the same: Either Mel Miller was an aggressive menace who shot and killed Robert Thomas Sr. without provocation, or the off-duty officer was forced to shoot Thomas in self-defense. Although a county inquest jury, in a 5-1 vote, essentially cleared Miller of wrongdoing in 2002 -- and county and federal prosecutors later passed on seeking charges against the deputy -- Thomas' family has since pressed forward with the federal wrongful death and negligence suit that contends that Thomas' civil rights were violated. His four children -- including Robert Thomas Jr., who was in the truck and shot in the hand by Miller during the encounter -- are seeking unspecified compensation and punitive damages. They name Miller and his wife, along with the Sheriff's Office and King County, as defendants. The case stems from the fatal shooting of Thomas, a 59-year-old truck driver, on the morning of April 7, 2002. Thomas, his son and his son's girlfriend had pulled over in a pickup truck after getting lost near Renton's Lake McDonald on the way to a friend's house. After a neighbor called and told him a truck was blocking the private roadway to their neighborhood, Miller, who lived nearby, approached the truck. A short time later, he fired three shots into the truck -- fatally striking the elder Thomas in the chest and wounding the younger Thomas. Yesterday, an all-white jury of four women and two men was seated as the trial began before U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly. [more] [more] and [more]

Black Family Lost in ALL White Neighborhood Within seconds, Robert Thomas Jr. testified yesterday, he went from extending his hand to introduce himself to King County sheriff's Deputy Melvin Miller to begging for his life as Miller pulled a gun from his waistband and fired three shots into the pickup Thomas was riding in. Thomas Jr. explained how he, his girlfriend and his father had gotten lost on the way to breakfast at a friend's house in the neighborhood. Shortly after the elder Thomas had pulled to the side of the road to review the directions, Miller walked from his house, approached the passenger side of the car and ordered the group to drive off, Thomas Jr. said. He said he thought maybe Miller had "a chip on his shoulder" about the Thomases being black and driving in a predominantly white neighborhood. Thomas said that he urged his father to get going, but that his father was using the cellphone and seemed to be "oblivious" to the growing tension. [more]
"There have been nine killings of Black men over the past nine years by police officers and nothing’s been done," Oscar Eason, president of the Seattle branch of the NAACP told The Final Call. "We want national attention to this issue. There are a rash of killings going on here and with very few Blacks in the jury pool, the hearings usually have an all-White jury which finds in favor of the police department." Robert Jr. said that in addition to being in plainclothes, officer Miller did not identify himself as a sheriff’s deputy. The officer said he fired because Robert Sr. aimed a gun in his direction. [more]
‘Kill A Black Man, Get A Vacation With Pay’ [PDF]