Subject:  Family of slain Louisiana native sues police |
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Chris
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Date Posted: 01/ 8/05 9:44pm
Family of slain Louisiana native sues police
By David Hunt
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Four police officers from Fayette and Washington counties involved in the chase that led to a Louisiana native's shooting are named in a federal complaint seeking more than $100 million in damages.
High-profile civil rights lawyer Geoffrey Fieger announced on Wednesday that he would be filing the civil suit today on behalf of Kermith Sonnier Sr., whose son, Kermith Sonnier Jr., 37, was killed by police gunfire on May 5 during a chase through Brownsville borough and township.
Four shots were fired. One bullet hit Sonnier Jr. near his left shoulder blade, smashing through three ribs and piercing both lungs.
"I think they shot and murdered my son. It was uncalled for," Sonnier Sr. said yesterday. "I think it was not justified."
A Fayette County coroner's jury decided that no charges should be filed in Sonnier Jr.'s death. The elder Sonnier referred to the coroner's inquest as a "kangaroo court."
Sonnier Sr. said he was planning to pursue the federal lawsuit regardless of the outcome of the Sept. 30 inquest, but said the proceeding left him with suspicions that evidence was withheld. For one thing, he said, the attorney he hired was not allowed to ask questions.
"It was set up," he said. "It was useless."
A statement released to the media yesterday says Fieger's investigation shows that Sonnier Jr.'s civil rights were violated. Fieger is alleging that Sonnier Jr. was unnecessarily shot in the back and later beaten by officers.
Authorities say two officers' weapons discharged as Sonnier Jr. tried to run over them with his truck near the end of a roughly six-mile chase.
Those testifying at the inquest described a truck barrelling toward them as they did what they had to do to survive.
The chase started when Brownsville police Officer Autumn Fike pulled her cruiser behind Sonnier Jr.'s Ford F-150 pickup near private property near Brownsville patrolled because of frequent reports of criminal activity. Authorities said Fike told Sonnier Jr. to leave the area the previous day, and he did so without incident.
During his second encounter with Fike, Sonnier Jr. drove off. It was later determined that his vehicle's registration had expired.
Fike chased Sonnier Jr. and called for backup. Several departments became involved before Sonnier Jr. turned into a wooded area near the village of Century. Several officers, including Fike, got out of their cruisers and pursued him on foot.
Toxicology test results indicate Sonnier Jr. had cocaine and the antidepressant doxepin in his bloodstream at the time of his death. He had a drug record in his native state of Louisiana and had been living with his father and stepmother in the Washington County community of Denbo Heights.
Authorities say Fike's weapon went off once. Redstone Township police Capt. H. Dennis Field fired three shots, authorities said. Ballistics tests indicated one of Field's bullets killed Sonnier Jr.
Both officers invoked their Fifth Amendment right not to testify during the inquest.
According to yesterday's news release, Fike and Field are named in the federal lawsuit along with Redstone police Officer Joshua Mrosko, and Centerville police Officer Mark Costello.
Costello was involved because he was responding to a call for backup. Mrosko, who had been on the job only several weeks, was riding along with Field.
Pittsburgh forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht testified at the inquest that Sonnier Jr. might have survived if he could have been taken to a specialist within an hour, another point Fieger's suit makes, according to the news release.
Fieger, of the Detroit suburb of Southfield, has worked on cases for "Dr. Death" Jack Kevorkian and for the family of 12-year-old police shooting victim Michael Ellerbe, of Uniontown.
Sonnier Sr. hired Fieger shortly after the shooting.
Even if the suit is successful, Sonnier Sr. said he'll never feel the same.
"I won't ever get over it until they put me in the ground," he said.
His wife, Dorothy, Sonnier Jr.'s stepmother, suffers from the loss perhaps the most, Sonnier Sr. said.
Dorothy Sonnier has Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that destroys memory. Her son used to care for her. Sonnier Sr. said she often forgets that he's gone.
"When I tell her he's in heaven, she says, 'They didn't have to kill him,'" he said.
After Sonnier Jr.'s death, Dorothy Sonnier went to live in a personal care home, Sonnier Sr. said.
A greeting card Sonnier Sr. found addressed to his wife from his dead son touched his heart.
Sonnier Jr. had written in it that he loved his stepmother.
"You have touched my soul in a wonderful way," it reads, and says that the two of them were the "best camping buddies ever."
Sonnier Sr. said his son would set up mock camping trips with his stepmother, spending evenings with her watching television in the living room with sleeping bags.
Those days are gone, but Sonnier Sr.'s fight continues.
"I want justice done," he said.
David Hunt can be reached at dhunt@tribweb.com or 724-425-2338.
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