Organizers expect 2,000 to protest Ellerbe probe
Organizers say as many as 2,000 people are expected to join in Saturday’s march through Uniontown to protest the investigation into the Christmas Eve shooting death of 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe. A Fayette County coroner’s jury ruled that state trooper Samuel Nassan was justified in shooting Ellerbe, and District Attorney Nancy Vernon decided not to prosecute the officer.
“There’s so many things about this case that, if you’re interested in justice, you have to question,” said Renee Wilson of the Pittsburgh-based People Against Police Violence. “We just want the truth. The white and black people that live in Uniontown support our efforts. I think we’ve gained support.”
Marchers will meet at 1 p.m. at the Calvary United Methodist Church on Clark Street. They will walk to Connellsville Street and proceed to the intersection of Lincoln and Murray streets, where Ellerbe was shot, before moving on the Fayette County Courthouse.
Wilson said that members of PAPV, Fayette County NAACP and others will speak to the group after they gather in front of the courthouse.
National NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and the Rev. Al Sharpton might attend, but Wilson said their appearances have not been confirmed.
Ellerbe family attorney Joel Sansone was invited to speak to the crowd and might use the forum to announce the filing of a civil rights violation suit.
Sansone said he and Geoffrey Fieger, a nationally known civil rights attorney from Michigan, have been preparing the suit and will file it in federal court in Pittsburgh “before Saturday’s rally. That’s for sure.”
He said he might announce the filing before the march, depending on when the suit is ready.
The U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI are conducting a criminal civil rights investigation and the state police have not yet completed their investigation into the case or their internal investigation.
At the coroner’s inquest, Nassan testified that he shouted numerous times for Ellerbe to take his hand out of his pocket while he and Trooper Juan Curry were chasing him on foot.
The foot chase began after a vehicle chase in which Ellerbe was driving a stolen vehicle, Nassan Curry testified. Ellerbe wrecked the sport utility vehicle then ran with the two troopers in pursuit.
Curry said he tried to follow Ellerbe over a fence in the back yard of a Cleveland Avenue home, but fell. Curry said he had his gun drawn and it discharged when he tried to jump the fence.
Nassan said he was behind in the chase, but he heard the shot, saw Curry fall and fired at Ellerbe. He said he believed Ellerbe had shot Curry.