Family of slain Unarmed 12-year-old Black Boy Awarded $28 million: PA Troopers Intentionally Shot Ellerbe in the Back on Christmas Eve

By Debra Erdley
TRIBUNE-REVIEW [HERE]

Federal review of DEATH sought [HERE]
Two Pennsylvania state troopers intentionally shot an unarmed 12-year-old Uniontown boy in the back, and his family deserves more than $28 million in damages, a federal jury found Tuesday.

The verdict in the civil rights case capped three weeks of court proceedings and nearly four days of jury deliberations. It was the first wrongful death verdict against the state police in recent memory and the largest payment ever imposed against the agency.

"This was not slipping on a banana peel. This is an American child who was shot in the back in broad daylight, and it was covered up," said Michigan civil rights lawyer Geoffrey Fieger.

The jury's findings were a dramatic departure from previous criminal inquiries that found the shooting of Michael Ellerbe on Christmas Eve 2002 was justified.

The verdict prompted U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, who oversaw the initial federal criminal probe, to take another look at the case.

"I will review the transcript of the civil trial to determine whether reopening the federal criminal investigation is warranted," she said.

Fieger, who led the legal team for Ellerbe's father, Michael Hickenbottom, applauded the jury's decision.
"It means that justice still exists, and this justice is intended to stop the police from shooting people in the back and lying about it," he said.

The state, not Troopers Samuel Nassan and Cpl. Juan Curry, would be responsible for any award that is upheld on appeal. The troopers deferred comment to defense attorney Andrew Fletcher, who said he will appeal the verdict.
"This is an enormously disappointing verdict that, in our view, is not at all supported by the evidence," Fletcher said.

"Everyone agrees this case was a tragedy, but today's verdict adds another sad chapter," said Bruce Edwards, president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association. "This is an incredible injustice. ... This horrible accident happened because they were pursuing an unknown assailant who had stolen a vehicle and was fleeing from police -- a felony crime. ... They did not know it was a 12-year-old."

Ellerbe's father, an unemployed carpenter, spoke softly about the verdict. His eyes filled with tears as he talked about his quest to learn why the troopers shot his son.

"I'm out to find answers in my son's death," Hickenbottom said. "Many have been answered. Many have not. Hopefully, with the help of my attorneys, we'll find the answers.

"I haven't put a headstone on my son's grave, and that is to symbolize that we're still fighting. And when we get answers, maybe he can rest in peace. ... He was a joyful kid, and one I miss every day."
The jury of six women and four men rejected a Fayette County coroner's inquest and an FBI review that found the shooting justifiable. Those inquiries accepted the troopers' accounts of the shooting.

Nassan said he shot Ellerbe in the back as the boy ran from a stolen SUV because he heard a gunshot and thought Ellerbe shot his partner, Juan Curry.

Curry said his gun discharged accidentally as he attempted to scale a fence seconds before Nassan fired.
Although forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht said Ellerbe died of a single gunshot wound in the back that left a graze wound on his arm as it exited his chest, Fieger's experts maintained the arm wound was from a second bullet, fired from a different direction. Neither bullet was recovered.

In addition to witnesses who disputed the police account of the chase and shooting, Fieger called former state police Sgt. James Baranowski, the incident commander at the shooting, to buttress his claims of a police cover-up.
Baranowski, who has filed a federal whistleblower suit against the police agency, claims he was told to mind his own business when he questioned the official version of the shooting and later was forced out of the agency.
Fieger hailed Baranowski as the "hero" in the case.

"Mr. Baranowski, and myself as his lawyer, view the jury's verdict as a victory not only for the Ellerbe family and Michael Ellerbe, but a victory for all citizens who cherish the rights guaranteed to us under the United States Constitution," Baranowski's attorney Tim O'Brien said.