DENVER—The family of a man who was shot and killed by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy near Denver has asked that certain evidence be excluded from a pending wrongful death trial.
David Rossiter of Sheridan, Mont., died Nov. 2, 2007, during a fight with Arapahoe County Deputy Daniel Montana in Lakewood after Rossiter’s co-worker tossed a cigarette that hit the deputy’s vehicle.
Montana says he was defending himself when he shot the 25-year-old Rossiter twice, but Rossiter’s family sued in August 2008 alleging excessive force and wrongful death.
Family attorneys filed a motion Wednesday to bar evidence showing Rossiter pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI in Madison County, Mont., in June 2007. The family also wants to exclude evidence about Rossiter’s participation in an April 2006 bar fight in Sheridan, as well as from a May 2007 bar fight between him and his roommate. No charges were filed in either incident.
