Candlelight vigil planned in remembrance of boy shot by police
Members of the Uniontown chapter of People Against Police Violence are planning a candlelight vigil in front of the Fayette County Courthouse on Friday, which would have been Michael Ellerbe’s 13th birthday. Residents who support the Ellerbe family and do not believe state police were justified when an officer fatally shot the boy on Christmas Eve are being invited to bring their own candles to the 5:30 p.m. vigil that will go on rain or shine, said PAPV spokeswoman Dena Patterson.
She said Feb. 21 is Ellerbe’s birthday, “which he would have celebrated if they arrested him.”
Police testified in a coroner’s inquest that they pursued Ellerbe in a stolen vehicle he was driving and then chased him on foot after he wrecked the vehicle in a Uniontown alley in the middle of the afternoon.
He kept one of his hands in his pants pocket during the chase, ignoring repeated commands to show his hands, police said.
Trooper Juan Curry said he tried to follow Ellerbe over a fence, but fell and his gun accidentally fired. Trooper Samuel Nassan testified that he heard the shot, saw Curry fall to the ground and shot Ellerbe, believing the boy had shot Curry. Ellerbe was not armed.
The coroner’s jury found the shooting was justified and Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon decided not to press charges against Nassan.
Both troopers remain on administrative assignments while state police continue their investigation.
The U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI are conducting a criminal civil rights investigation into the case.
The Ellerbe family has filed a federal lawsuit against Nassan, Curry and two unidentified state police officers seeking unspecified damages for civil rights violations, gross negligence and wrongful death.
People Against Police Violence staged a protest rally last Saturday in front of the Fayette County Courthouse. The rally drew a crowd of about 300 people.
Also on Friday, Patterson a group of children who were friends with Ellerbe will present letters to Vernon that ask her to reconsider her decision about filing charges against the police.
Patterson said the children will give Vernon the letters in her office at 11 a.m.
“Kids voices matter,” Patterson said.