Authorities pressed for answers to shooting of 12-year-old boy
The state police commander for southwestern Pennsylvania said the criminal investigation into a Christmas Eve incident in which a 12-year-old Uniontown boy was shot and killed after allegedly fleeing a stolen vehicle will be completed before an internal investigation into the responding troopers’ actions begins. Meanwhile, an attorney hired by the boy’s family said one of the two troopers may have fatally shot Michael Ellerbe in the back after his partner fell while chasing the youth and the partner’s gun accidentally fired.
At a press conference Friday in the Uniontown station, Capt. Roger Waters, commander of Troop B – which has stations in Fayette, Greene, Washington, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties – explained how the investigations would proceed, but he would reveal no further details about the incident.
The information police have released so far states that the troopers were in pursuit of a stolen sports-utility vehicle when the suspect wrecked in Uniontown. After the wreck, Ellerbe reportedly fled from the vehicle on foot and troopers pursued him. During the chase, shots were fired and Ellerbe was struck around 2:30 p.m. along Murray Avenue. He was treated at the scene and taken to Uniontown Hospital, where he died later.
The troopers involved, Juan Curry and Samuel Nassan, were assigned administrative duties pending completion of the investigation. Administrative assignments are routine when officers are involved in such incidents, police said.
An autopsy found that Ellerbe was shot in the back and the bullet struck his heart, according to an Associated Press report.
Joel Sansone, a Pittsburgh attorney hired by Ellerbe’s family, said unconfirmed information from sources close to the investigation indicates that during the foot chase, one of the troopers slipped and fell, causing his gun, which was drawn, to discharge. The second officer heard the shot, believed a gunfight had begun and fired his weapon, Sansone said.
“If it’s true, it doesn’t excuse shooting a 12-year-old in the back,” Sansone said, adding that Ellerbe did not have a weapon.
He said he and the family will monitor the police investigation closely: “We need to know more about the facts.”
Waters said releasing any information about the incident now would “taint” statements from any witnesses who have not yet been interviewed.
He said investigators from the Uniontown station will interview all witnesses, analyze evidence and then give the information to Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon, who will decide if prosecution is warranted.
Witness statements and evidence analysis will then be forwarded to the state police internal affairs division so authorities there can determine if the officers handled the incident properly, Waters said, noting that the state police have a policy governing the use of force.
“Whenever weapons are involved, it’s never simple,” he said.
A coroner’s inquest into the incident will be held in late January.
Responding to a reporter Friday, Vernon said she would prosecute the officers if charges are warranted. Both Vernon and Waters said they have prosecuted police officers in the past. They also agreed that Ellerbe’s death was tragic.
Vernon said she will evaluate the circumstances of the incident and determine “how a reasonable officer in that circumstance would react.”
She said police are sometimes forced to make “split-second judgments” about the use of force.
A roomful of reporters inundated Waters with questions about the incident, but he would not answer most of them.
Some of the questions he did not answer included whether Ellerbe was armed, whether a gun was recovered from the scene, whether other people were in the SUV with Ellerbe, whether other people fired weapons and whether either of the officers fired their weapons.
Waters did say that Curry is black and Nassan is white.
If the family is not satisfied with the state police investigation, they might ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate, especially if civil rights issues are involved, Sansone said.
He also said “the family will grieve and move on” if authorities determine that the police acted properly.
The family held a press conference Friday morning, but no family members addressed the media that had gathered.
Instead, Gwendolyn Ridgley of the Fayette County chapter of the NAACP spoke on behalf of the family. She did not respond to questions about details of the incident, but she called for a thorough investigation into Ellerbe’s death.
“I would hope the same due process given to any other American citizen would be given here,” Ridgley said.
She said racial profiling has been a problem with law enforcement agencies in Fayette County, but she didn’t know if it occurred in Ellerbe’s case.
She also said Fayette County has the highest incidence of hate crimes of all counties in the state.
However, the State Police Uniform Crime Report shows the last hate crime in the county occurred in 1998. Three were reported that year, and one was documented in 1997, according to the report.
The NAACP is helping the family raise money for funeral expenses.
Donations can be mailed to Fayette County NAACP, 137 N. Beeson Blvd., Suite 113, Uniontown, 15401. Checks or money orders should be made payable to Fayette County NAACP/Michael Ellerbe Burial Fund.
Calvary United Methodist Church on Clark Street also is accepting donations to cover funeral expenses.
Ellerbe was born Feb. 21, 1990, in Trenton, N.J., son of Michael R. Hickenbottom and Valerie Ellerbe.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his stepmother, Renee Randolph of Uniontown; one sister, Lakettle Ellerbe of Lumberton, N.C.; three brothers, Michael Jr., Dominique, and Raji Hickenbottom, and a stepsister, Chantal Randolph, all of Uniontown; grandparents Beulah Brown of Latta, S.C., Annie Ellerbe of Trenton, N.J., Charles and Mary Gibson of Willingboro, N.J., Neal and Sheila Hickenbottom of Pittsburgh; and several relatives and friends.
Friends will be received in Calvary United Methdist Church, 34 Clark St., Uniontown, Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the hour of service, with the Rev. Thomas Whitehead officiating.
Interment will follow in Sylvan Heights Cemetery, Uniontown.
Services are under the direction of the Muriel E.Lantz Funeral Home, Uniontown.