CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The mother of the man killed during a September police chase filed a lawsuit against the city of Charleston on Friday, claiming that police should have stopped their chase and not fired their weapons the night Brian Good and Charleston Patrolman Jerry Jones were killed.
"We believe that there were proper procedures in place that would have prevented these deaths and we believe the procedures were not followed," said Harold Albertson, the attorney for Good's mother Patricia Harrison. "We think that the senior officer should have terminated the chase."
On Sept. 13, Good led police on a chase from Charleston's East End to northern Kanawha County. The chase ended when Good ran into a Charleston police cruiser in a gravel parking lot on Quick Road.
Video from police cruisers at the scene show Good continuing to rev his engine and hit the police car as other cars close in. Three police officers then fired, killing Good and in the process also killing their fellow officer.
The lawsuit contends that Charleston police officers "immediately and negligently" opened fire on Good, killing him.
"The senior officer announced that he knew that Brian Good was the person being pursued and that he knew where Brian Good lived," the suit states. "Once this information was absolutely known, the senior officer failed to order the pursuit to be ceased."
The officers fired were Jones, Patrolman Owen Morris and Patrolman Christopher Burford. Morris fired from in front of Good's truck; Burford fired from the driver's side; Jones fired from the passenger side.
The suit names Morris and Burford as officers on the scene but they are not listed as defendants.
The suit claims officers "acted indifferently and recklessly to the safety and well being of others, like (Good) and his passenger, Natasha Light, when they continued a dangerous high speed chase and then opened fire on unarmed citizens."
The suit says Charleston police "had a duty" to arrest Good without firing their guns.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The mother of the man killed during a September police chase filed a lawsuit against the city of Charleston on Friday, claiming that police should have stopped their chase and not fired their weapons the night Brian Good and Charleston Patrolman Jerry Jones were killed.
"We believe that there were proper procedures in place that would have prevented these deaths and we believe the procedures were not followed," said Harold Albertson, the attorney for Good's mother Patricia Harrison. "We think that the senior officer should have terminated the chase."
On Sept. 13, Good led police on a chase from Charleston's East End to northern Kanawha County. The chase ended when Good ran into a Charleston police cruiser in a gravel parking lot on Quick Road.
Video from police cruisers at the scene show Good continuing to rev his engine and hit the police car as other cars close in. Three police officers then fired, killing Good and in the process also killing their fellow officer.
The lawsuit contends that Charleston police officers "immediately and negligently" opened fire on Good, killing him.
"The senior officer announced that he knew that Brian Good was the person being pursued and that he knew where Brian Good lived," the suit states. "Once this information was absolutely known, the senior officer failed to order the pursuit to be ceased."
The officers fired were Jones, Patrolman Owen Morris and Patrolman Christopher Burford. Morris fired from in front of Good's truck; Burford fired from the driver's side; Jones fired from the passenger side.
The suit names Morris and Burford as officers on the scene but they are not listed as defendants.
The suit claims officers "acted indifferently and recklessly to the safety and well being of others, like (Good) and his passenger, Natasha Light, when they continued a dangerous high speed chase and then opened fire on unarmed citizens."
The suit says Charleston police "had a duty" to arrest Good without firing their guns.
"We'll look forward to settling this in court," said Charleston Mayor Danny Jones.
Steve Neddo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 74 hopes the lawsuit goes to court.
"These lawsuits come along and we expect them," Neddo said. "It's not a surprise somebody thinks they can make some money. What's real sad sometimes is that it's cheaper to pay someone off than to fight it."
Police departments and their municipalities often have to decide if it's financially worth continuing a case.
"Attorneys can be expensive," Neddo said.
And if the money is coming from a city's insurance company, then whether to settle becomes that company's decision.
When cases where police are accused of wrongdoing are settled, it affects police morale, Neddo said. Officers can start to feel they are not getting the proper backing by their agency and superiors.
"In the middle of the night, two police cruisers meet and they discuss it," Neddo said. "You don't want officers stopping to think, 'Hey, if I'm going to do this, am I going to get sued?'"
@tag:Reach Gary Harki at gha...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5163.
Post a comment
Vito says, What cave have you been living in : lige4abe ???????? Lawsuits as this one filed by Jones mother will never be heard by a jury trial , It will be settled out of court ! Justice ? Justice is not the goal, its all about the money !
Justice is the quality of being just or fair. It is the administration of law; the act of determining rights and assigning rewards or punishments.-I ask lige4abe , do you actually believe "justice" will be served and a punishment will be administered to the "guilty" party in this case of the cop shooter vs cop Jones ???
Now who is the IDIOT here ?
Of course his mother has a right to sue! The police did not follow procedures throughout this fisaco!
So everybody bite on that!