- Police Brutality Watch

Family of man who died in custody had filed $50 million suit in 2001
A federal wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a Dover man who died in police custody has been thrown out by a judge in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit was filed in May 2001 by the family of Reginald Hannah. Hannah's death was later attributed to a lethal amount of cocaine in his blood and cardiac arrest, but the police use of pepper spray and "nonlethal blunt force" were called contributing factors. The incident sparked racial tensions in Dover and prompted reforms in the way citizen complaints about police are handled. A Delaware Attorney General's Office investigation cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing, though the Dover police officers refused to speak with state investigators. At one time, the law firm of the late attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. was involved in the $50 million lawsuit, but the firm withdrew in late 2001. The family has been proceeding with the lawsuit without attorneys and could not be reached for comment Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson wrote that the Hannah family failed to show there was a substantial violation of Reginald Hannah's rights by the police - either racial discrimination or excessive force. [more]