Parents of man killed by Auburn police in 2019 file federal wrongful death lawsuit

Wrongful Death

The parents of a 26-year-old man killed by Auburn police in 2019 have filed a federal wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit alleging an officer shot Enosa Strickland Jr. in the back of the head while he was lying face down in a parking lot.

The lawsuit also claims that the officer who shot him, Kenneth Lyman, has an extensive history of using force and was carrying an unapproved and “illegal” dagger that he later claimed Strickland, who went by the initials “EJ,” had grabbed and refused to drop during a struggle.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, alleges that Lyman and another officer identified only with the initials “DM,” responded to a domestic disturbance in an apartment parking lot around

Family awarded $730 million in wrongful death of East Texas woman

Wrongful Death

The surviving children of a 73-year-old East Texas woman killed in a 2016 crash were awarded $730 million Monday by a Titus County jury in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Toni Combest was driving from one church service to another on Feb. 21, 2016, when she was killed on the White Oak bridge near Mount Pleasant by a nearly 200,000-pound “Super-Load” escorted by front and back pilot escort vehicles.

The lawsuit for negligence causing wrongful death was filed against the trucking company and the employing companies of the front and rear escort vehicles.

Landstar Ranger, the trucking company, and S&M Pilot Service, the employer of the rear escort driver settled prior to trial for $50 million and $1 million, respectively. The case against 2A Pilot Cars, the employer of the front escort vehicle, went to trial and lasted about a week.

Brent Goudarzi of Goudarzi & Young in Longview and Gilmer represented the family in the lawsuit. Nelson Roach of Roach Langston Bruno also tried the case with Goudarzi.

“Yesterday, a proud jury in Titus County awarded our clients $730 million,” Goudarzi said Tuesday morning. “That jury stood up against the entire industry and is going to force them to affect changes. They’re going to make roads in Texas, and specifically all over East Texas, safer.”

Phoenix to pay $5M in lawsuit over man’s death during arrest

Wrongful Death

The 7-2 vote by the City Council ends the lawsuit by the sister of Muhammad Abdul Muhaymin, who was homeless and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.

“Although they (city officials) didn’t acknowledge any specific kind of wrongdoing, the settlement makes a strong statement — and for that reason, I am happy we could move forward,” said Muhaymin’s sister, Mussallina Muhaymin.

City spokesman Dan Wilson declined to comment on the settlement on behalf of the city and police department. Lawyers representing the city had previously denied the lawsuit’s allegations of excessive force and wrongful death.

Mother of Elijah McClain Settles Wrongful Death Suit with Aurora Police

Wrongful Death

The mother of Elijah McCain, a Black man who died after an altercation with Colorado law enforcement, has settled her federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Aurora and its police department.

McClain, notes CBS News, was walking home from a convenience store when someone called 9-1-1 to report a person acting suspiciously. Police arrested McClain shortly after sighting him. A confrontation ensued when officers ordered McClain to stop.

However, McClain kept walking, and officers tried to subdue him.

After speaking with police, McClain told officers that he was on his way home and had not harmed or meant to harm anyone. He then explained that he had been listening to music and had thus not heard the officers’ commands.

While Aurora police officials said that McClain was violent and had tried reaching for their guns, body-camera footage of the encounter does not capture any evidence of these claims.

Jury returns $3.2 million verdict against Alaska Airlines in wrongful death lawsuit

Wrongful Death

A jury returned a verdict Monday against Alaska Airlines for $3,189,672 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against it after a woman’s fall down a Portland International Airport escalator in June 2017 in Oregon.

The family of Bernice Kekona, a Spokane, Washington woman who died four months after her fall, filed a wrongful death suit against Alaska Airlines in December 2017, alleging neglect at the airport contributed to her injuries.

The airline filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit but a U.S. District Judge ruled against the motion in March 2018.

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