Monday
Jan172005
Monday, January 17, 2005 at 01:12AM
- In 2001
Good Samaritan Charles Craighead wrestled a gun away from a would-be
carjacker. As the two struggled, Lee (above) came up to the two men and fired.
That single shotgun bullet hit both men, killing Craighead.
A lawsuit brought by relatives of Charles Craighead against the city of
St. Paul and police officer Michael A. Lee, who fatally shot Craighead
in 2001, can proceed to trial, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
Whether Lee was justified in using deadly force in the Dec. 3, 2001,
incident raises questions of fact that must be decided by a jury, the
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals said. Lee shot Craighead, 46, of St.
Paul, who had wrestled a handgun away from Carlos A. Scott after Scott
allegedly tried to take Craighead's car. Lee and other police officers
were looking for Scott, who had shot two men in St. Paul earlier that
day. Lee was responding to a 911 call that a man had pulled a gun near
St. Paul Central High School and that a shot had been fired. Lee said
that when he arrived, he saw Scott and Craighead wrestling, and that
Craighead held a handgun. The officer says he ordered Craighead to put
down the gun, and that Craighead did so momentarily but quickly picked
it up again and pointed it at the officer. Lee said he then fired his
shotgun, killing Craighead and wounding Scott. Craighead's relatives
contend that his girlfriend, Joyce McDougle, and another witness say
that Craighead never pointed a gun at Lee, and that the officer did not
order Craighead to put the gun down before firing the shotgun. Lee and
Craighead's relatives also dispute whether the officer heard a police
radio report just before the shooting that the gun had changed hands
during the struggle between Craighead and Scott. Lee said he did not
hear the report. The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $50,000 from
the city and Lee for alleged violations of the state's wrongful death
law. [more] and [more]
- St. Paul officer fatally shoots suspect brandishing knife [more]
-
African-American leaders demand firing, prosecution of St. Paul police officer [more]
