With lawsuit, attorney vows to ‘find the truth’ in slaying of 12-year-old
With the boy’s father standing by his side, attorney Joel Sansone vowed to “find the truth” behind 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe’s death through the federal lawsuit the lawyer filed on behalf of Ellerbe’s family. “We will not stand for the lies we have been told,” Sansone said Saturday to a throng of about 300 cheering protesters standing in front of the Fayette County Courthouse.
He filed the suit Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh against troopers Samuel Nassan and Juan Curry and two unidentified members of the state police, claiming the four of them covered up the true circumstances of Ellerbe’s death. The suit alleges civil rights violations, gross negligence and wrongful death. A damage amount is not specified.
Nassan shot Ellerbe as the boy fled from a stolen SUV in Uniontown’s East End. Nassan said he fired on the boy only after he mistakenly believed that Curry had been shot. The shot Nassan heard was the accidental discharge of Curry’s firearm, according to the troopers.
Sansone has been openly skeptical of the accounts of Nassan and Curry, and he claimed in the lawsuit that the troopers and others within the state police intimidated witnesses and covered up what truly happened.
“The defendants have in fact filed false reports, tainted evidence, attempted to influence witnesses and attempted to improperly misdirect the subject investigation, all in furtherance of the object of the conspiracy which was to direct blame away from Nassan and Curry…,” according to the suit.
The suit further alleges that Nassan and Curry came up with a “false and fictitious story” to keep them from getting in trouble over the shooting.
The alleged cover-up, according to the suit, was “motivated by racial and/or otherwise class-based discriminatory animus.”
The seven-count suit asks for both compensatory and punitive damages from all four defendants, all of whom are named both in their official and individual capacities.
Through the lawsuit, and the discovery process that goes along with it, Sansone said he hopes to bring out the truth of what happened so that Ellerbe will get justice.
The suit contradicts Curry’s testimony at the inquest by alleging that he fired his gun once or more at Ellerbe.
Curry testified he did not fire at the child, and his gun went off accidentally as he scaled a fence while chasing Ellerbe.
The suit also questions whether Nassan shot once or more at Ellerbe before hitting him in the back.
The bullet pierced arteries near Ellerbe’s heart, killing him.
Sansone also alleged that neither Nassan nor Curry ever told Ellerbe to stop or indicated they would use deadly force if he did not. The suit suggests that the troopers “never employed reasonable alternatives including discontinuing the chase” before shooting.
The suit also claims that the troopers did not have an “articulable basis” to believe that Ellerbe was armed during the chase. However, Nassan and Curry both testified that Ellerbe fled from them with his hand in his pocket, something police are trained to notice and be concerned about.
After Ellerbe was shot, the suit contends, he did not immediately die “but was conscious for a period of time and in great pain, suffering, fright, horror and shock from his injuries.”
“I will find the truth,” Sansone told the gathered marchers. “We believe in justice, and we will see it.”