FARMINGTON, N.M.—Two Colorado attorneys have filed a federal lawsuit against a Farmington police officer in the shooting death of a 21-year-old Navajo man.
Attorneys Bobby Duthie and Steven Boos of Durango claim Clint John’s civil and constitutional rights were violated when Sgt. Shawn Scott shot him four times in a Wal-Mart parking lot on June 10, 2006. They are requesting a jury trial and unspecified damages for John’s family.
The lawsuit names former police Chief Mike Burridge, the police department, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Bob Melton as defendants.
City attorney Jay Burnham said he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
Scott was called to the business about a report of a man beating a woman. The sheriff’s office has said John was shot after he charged at Scott with the officer’s baton.
The lawsuit, however, contends that John was not abusing the woman. Instead, he was leaning against his parked pickup truck, talking with his girlfriend, who was inside the vehicle with their 4-year-old daughter, the lawsuit states.
Scott admittedly did not activate his in-car police camera or sirens when he arrived on the scene. He has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting and was promoted to sergeant earlier this year.
The lawsuit contends the department excused Scott for failing to turn on the camera, despite a departmental policy that requires officers engaged in arrests to activate them.
The facts cited in the report could suggest that Scott deliberately failed to activate the camera or that he did and its contents were erased, the lawsuit states.
Scott’s actions leading up to and during the shooting investigation were emblematic of a pattern of conduct in law enforcement in the area marked by an indifference to the civil rights of American Indians, the lawsuit states.
Before John’s shooting, the police department knew that Scott exhibited overly aggressive and unreasonable attitudes and behaviors during arrests, especially toward ethnic minorities, the lawsuit states.
Scott did not determine whether John posed a threat when he arrived at the business, instead ordering John to step away from the vehicle and get down on the ground, the lawsuit says.
Before John could fully comply with Scott’s instructions, Scott pushed John against the fender of the pickup and used his police baton to beat John’s legs and body, the lawsuit says. In an effort to defend himself, John struggled with Scott.
An investigation into the incident said John was intoxicated at the time, grabbed Scott’s baton and threatened the officer with it.
The lawsuit claims John approached Scott with empty hands, and the officer shot him without warning.
Scott was taken to the police station after the shooting, met with a corporal and had an unrecorded conversation with him, the lawsuit contends. Scott did not give an official statement until the following day.
The officer returned to active duty after the investigation of the shooting was complete. He was not subject to additional training, discipline or restrictions, the lawsuit states.
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Information from: The Daily Times,
