State trooper transferred over shooting
The state police trooper who was cleared in Fayette County of wrongdoing in the Christmas Eve shooting death of 12-year-old Michael Ellerbe has accepted an offer to transfer to another station, as a precaution against possible retaliation. Trooper Samuel Nassan accepted the transfer offered by Troop B Commander Capt. Roger Waters “very soon” after the incident, Lt. Charles Depp, the recently appointed commander of the Uniontown station, said Friday, noting that no threats have been made.
A transfer also was offered to trooper Juan Curry, who was involved in the chase that preceded the shooting, but he decided to stay in Uniontown, his hometown, according to Depp.
Both officers remain on administrative assignments, pending the completion of a state police internal investigation into the case and a civil rights investigation being conducted by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office.
Curry’s gun reportedly discharged while he was jumping a fence just behind Ellerbe. Nassan, who was trailing in the chase when he heard the gunshot, testified during a coroner’s inquest that he saw Curry fall, so he shot Ellerbe, mistakenly believing the boy had just shot Curry.
The coroner’s jury ruled the shooting was justified, and District Attorney Nancy Vernon concluded that charges against Nassan were not warranted. Those decisions touched off a protest march through Uniontown last month.
Nassan was transferred to a station closer to his hometown, but Depp declined to identify either place.
Depp said both transfer offers were precautionary, and neither trooper received threats.
“We wanted to make sure it didn’t happen,” Depp said. “There’s always a possibility for retaliation.”
Nassan has the option to return to Uniontown, where he worked for about eight months in his first assignment as a trooper, but Depp said he doubts Nassan would return, since his new station is closer to his home.
Ellerbe’s family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against both officers through Pittsburgh attorney Joel Sansone.
Meanwhile, the federal civil rights investigation will continue, according to U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.
“I anticipate it will take two to three months to conclude the investigation, to make sure we’ve looked at every piece of evidence in this case,” Buchanan said. “We want to make sure we conduct as thorough an investigation as possible.”