MANILA, Ark. (AP) - A federal appeals court has reinstated a woman’s lawsuit against an Arkansas city in the fatal shooting of her son by a city police officer.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported that the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday overturned a decision by a federal judge in Little Rock to dismiss the lawsuit by Mildred Crowder.
Crowder sued the City of Manila, former officer Jared Camp and former Police Chief Jackie Hill in the fatal 2015 shooting of Crowder’s son, Timothy Johnson, 41.
Attorney John Wilkerson for the city and the former officers said he believes the officer will be vindicated.
“Obviously disappointed” with the appeals court ruling, attorney John Wilkerson, who represents the city and both former officers, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
“I obviously believe the officer will be eventually vindicated,” Wilkerson said.
The appeals court wrote that Crowder made a valid claim that her son “did not pose an immediate threat of serious physical harm to Camp or others when Camp shot him.”
A prosecutor ruled that Camp was justified in the shooting, saying he acted in self-defense as Johnson was approaching Camp with a knife.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages and attorney’s fees.
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