NAACP members disppointed but not surprised at D.A.’s decision
Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said they were disappointed but not surprised that Fayette County District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon decided not to charge state police troopers involved in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old black boy. “It just seemed this is the way it was going to go,” said Charles Stokes, a past president of the Pennsylvania NAACP.
Vernon announced Friday that neither trooper Juan Curry nor trooper Samuel Nassan, who fired the fatal shot, would be charged in Michael Ellerbe’s death on Christmas Eve. At the time he was shot, Ellerbe was fleeing from a wrecked SUV he was driving when the troopers spotted him.
Curry said his gun accidentally discharged during the chase, leaving Nassan with the impression that he had been shot. Nassan said he returned fire, hitting Ellerbe in the back and killing him.
The Rev. Louis Ridgley and the Rev. Carl Farrell echoed Stokes’ opinion.
Ridgley, the treasurer of the Fayette County chapter of the NAACP, said he was “appalled that they used the fall of a black trooper as an excuse” for the shooting. Curry is black, while Nassan is white.
“There was no justification for the shooting,” said Rev. Ridgley.
He also said that there is “no doubt in my mind” that Ellerbe would not have been shot if he were white.
In a loud, emotional voice, the Rev. Farrell spoke to a throng of reporters after Vernon announced her decision, defending Ellerbe and decrying police.
“People have insurance. You can replace the car. You can replace the house,” said Rev. Farrell, referring to the house Ellerbe hit with the SUV as he fled police. “I’m talking about a life.”
Rev. Farrell said Ellerbe most likely was frightened as he fled from police, and he said that no one is sticking up for the boy who used to cut his grass.
“God have mercy on the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the judicial system if they’re going to get away with shooting a 12-year-old boy,” said Rev. Farrell.
Stokes also questioned why, if troopers were gaining on Ellerbe, they didn’t just reach out and grab him instead of shooting.
“That an SUV is worth a kid’s life doesn’t make sense to me,” said Stokes.
Rev. Ridgley, meanwhile, said that the NAACP on the national level may conduct its own probe into the shooting.
He said that locally, the NAACP has been providing support to Ellerbe’s family, including his father, Michael Hickenbottom, who declined comment on Vernon’s decision.
Rev. Ridgley also praised the community support of Ellerbe’s family, which included donations to offset the youngster’s burial costs.