Police shooting victims’ family hopes for answers at inquest
It has been almost a month since 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe was shot and killed in a Uniontown alley while running from a stolen vehicle after a state police pursuit on Christmas Eve. While state police in Uniontown have released only the most general information about the incident, some city residents and the attorney for Ellerbe’s family say they hope an upcoming coroner’s inquest will answer their questions.
Some residents say the incident is no longer the center of conversation, but they still want to know what happened.
“The whole community was in an uproar when it happened,” said Jeaneen Krepps, who lives on Clark Street, across from Calvary United Methodist Church, where Ellerbe’s funeral was held.
Krepps said so many people attended Ellerbe’s funeral on New Year’s Eve that their cars turned Clark Street into a parking lot.
“I’d like to know what happened. How can you justify shooting a 12-year-old boy in the back? It’s a shame. He was only a kid,” Krepps said, referring to an autopsy report that showed Ellerbe was shot in the back.
She said talk about the shooting among neighbors and friends has diminished since then, but it has not been forgotten.
It “absolutely shocked” Don Arthur.
“I didn’t see that in him. There are 13-year-olds that scare the hell out of me,” said Arthur, who owns Byers Market on Connellsville Street, where Ellerbe used to do odd jobs.
“He was a good kid compared to a lot of others I get here. I liked him. He treated me with respect. He treated my employees with respect,” Arthur added. “I don’t know if we’ll ever know what really happened.”
The Fayette County coroner has scheduled an inquest Jan. 27, and two troopers involved in the case are expected to testify about details of the shooting. Also, instructors from the state police training academy are expected to testify and explain use-of-force training.
The Fayette County NAACP said in a statement that it “insists and demands” that at least three members of the black community serve on the coroner’s jury.
Ellerbe’s family will be represented at the inquest and is hoping to hear the long-awaited truth.
“We’re very hopeful that we’re going to hear answers to some of our questions,” said the family’s attorney, Joel Sansone. “We’re hopeful that we’re going to get the truth.”
He said the family’s questions include who shot Ellerbe, how many gunshots were fired and why shots were fired.
Sansone said he is “not pleased” with the fact the state police have not disclosed more details of the incident.
“We want answers, and we’re not getting them quickly enough,” he said.
Ellerbe’s father, Michael Hickenbottom, said Sansone advised him not to discuss the case, but he said the family probably will hold a press conference this week.
So far, police have said only that a bullet struck the 5-foot-2-inch Ellerbe as shots were being fired when he was running from a wrecked stolen vehicle, which troopers pursued into Uniontown. Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident and conduct an internal investigation into the troopers’ actions.
Sansone has said that sources close to the case told him that one trooper fell while chasing the boy, and the officer’s gun, which already was drawn, discharged during the fall. He said the second trooper, believing the first trooper had been shot, fired at Ellerbe, striking him in the back.
The two troopers involved in the incident, Juan Curry and Samuel Nassan, have been assigned administrative duties pending completion of the investigation, which is normal procedure when such incidents occur.
Curry is an eight-year state police veteran. Nassan was assigned to the Uniontown station in July 2002, his first assignment after graduating from the academy earlier in the year. Both have their own attorneys.
Sansone said he was invited to attend the inquest as the family’s attorney, and he will have an opportunity to question those who will testify.
Fayette County Coroner Dr. Phillip E. Reilly said all pertinent witnesses that he is aware of will be called upon to testify under oath about what they saw. He declined to identify any of the witnesses or say how many will appear or be subpoenaed, but he is prepared to continue the inquest into the evening if the time is needed for everyone to testify.
Reilly said the six-person jury will serve as fact-finders and might issue recommendations on how to prevent the same thing from happening again.
The jury will be asked to determine the manner of death and can also find that the shooting was justified, Reilly said.
State police experts on use-of-force training and ballistics will appear and testify if requested to do so, department spokesman Jack Lewis said.
“The state police would provide experts without a subpoena,” Lewis said.
The state police policy governing the use of force states that “officers may unholster their firearms in certain situations for safety, e.g., building searches for suspects, service search or felony arrest warrants, checking vehicles in high-risk situations, felony arrest situations, etc. Officers shall exercise a reasonable standard of care with the drawn weapon by pointing the muzzle in a safe direction, keeping the trigger finger outside the trigger guard and parallel to the cylinder or slide, and under no circumstances shall a weapon capable of double action be cocked.”
Meanwhile, Reilly said he heard that the NAACP wants immunity from prosecution for other youths whom the family speculates may have been in the stolen vehicle with Ellerbe, but only the district attorney can provide immunity.
Sansone said he knows the NAACP wants immunity for the others, but Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan would have to offer immunity for it to mean anything.
Vernon declined to comment on the reported request for immunity.
At Vernon’s request, Buchanan initiated a criminal civil rights investigation into the case. Buchanan could not be reached for comment.