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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]

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