Mother's plea: ‘I want to know why’ - Family of Black Man killed by Glen Ellyn Police Files Federal Lawsuit
Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 11:59PM 
Black College Student- Unarmed & Naked Shot in the Face by Frightened Police
Portia Uwumarogie said she sent her son, Benjamin, to Glen Ellyn to get a college degree. Instead, the 22-year-old College of DuPage student died in a police shooting. Colleagues of Glen Ellyn officer Jason Bradley say he is a hero who risked his life to save a child, but the outraged Uwumarogie family isn’t so easily convinced. They filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging discrimination, undue deadly force, inadequate police training and that conspiring authorities are hiding the truth about the April 26 shooting. “Whatever happened that day, I do know my son well enough to know he would not harm anyone and was just trying to defend himself,” his mother said. “He was not the type of person to fear.” His father, Sunday, added: “I want to know why, why, why. How could he be shot in the face, in his own bedroom, while unarmed and naked?” As their lawyers filed the lawsuit, the parents, siblings and friends toted signs such as “Don’t cover up the truth” and “Justice for Benjamin” during a protest in downtown Chicago. They called upon DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett to prosecute the police officer. Detectives who interviewed the officer and Uwumarogie’s friends and neighbors report a far more violent and bizarre portrayal of Uwumarogie than his family said is possible of the south suburban native. He did not have a history of criminal or mental problems, but officials suspect Uwumarogie suffered an emotional breakdown that day. Authorities said he attacked a girlfriend, performed naked cartwheels, shouted religious rantings and tried to drown his own baby before attacking Bradley. Authorities described a violent struggle that led to a bedroom in which the officer was beaten, his uniform torn. The men were alone in the room when the gun discharged, fatally striking the man once in the head. Attorneys Douglas Hopson and Benjamin Nwoye said the unarmed, nude man did not pose a danger and called the notion that Uwumarogie was trying to kill his son “ludicrous.” “There’s no history of such conduct and, more importantly, we have an eyewitness who disputes that claim,” Hopson said. The lawsuit alleges police did nothing to try to save the man’s life, allowing him to bleed to death while denying medical care. It also seeks an unspecified amount in damages and for a judge to order the Glen Ellyn police department to better train members on racial sensitivity and use of deadly force. [MORE] and [MORE] and [MORE] and [MORE]
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