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Monday, June 08, 2009
Jury Clears Farmington Officer in Man's Death
Associated Press
A federal court jury has ruled against a lawsuit that claimed excessive force by a Farmington police officer who shot a man in a Wal-Mart parking lot in three years ago.
Jurors in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque deliberated 15 hours before returning the verdict in favor of Farmington officer Shawn Scott.
The family of Clint John had sued Scott for damages, alleging he acted beyond his rights as an officer when he shot and killed the 21-year-old Kirtland man on June 10, 2006.
Scott, now a sergeant with the Farmington Police Department, called Friday evening's verdict a relief.
"It's a tragedy for the (John) family, and I feel for them, but the jury did the right thing," he said.
John's mother, Della John, said, "Justice wasn't done."
She said the verdict did not consider facts provided at trial and will not help the family get closure.
"The evidence was there, the witnesses were there," she said.
Scott testified he shot John after John wrenched his police baton away during a fight and attempted to attack him.
Scott encountered John after responding to a call that John was beating his girlfriend at the busy shopping center. When Scott arrived, John allegedly ignored police commands and provoked a fight.
John's former girlfriend, Lynn Negale, testified she saw him swing the police baton while approaching the officer.
Negale, who was a party in the lawsuit with John's mother and his two children, declined to comment on the case.
Two weeks after the shooting, prosecutors ruled the veteran police officer was justified in the shooting and would not face criminal charges.
Durango, Colo.-based attorneys Bobby Duthie and Kate Burke, who represented the John family in their lawsuit, said the verdict was disappointing. However, Duthie added, "We exercised our right to what we felt was a just case and we accept the jury's decision."
The shooting of John, a Navajo, by Scott, an Anglo, strained the city's relations with American Indians and prompted Farmington to form a Community Relations Commission in December 2007 to deal with race and cultural relations.
Farmington City Manager Rob Mayes said he hoped the verdict would aid reconciliation.
"It is our sincere hope that the healing process may continue in earnest for all those who suffered, and that the level of mutual respect, understanding and communication will flourish and progress in our community," Mayes said.
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