A federal judge has dismissed the case of a city policeman's widow who had filed a lawsuit against the City of Charleston and officer Christopher Burford.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin threw out the case of Samantha Jones, widow of Officer Jerry Jones. He was killed by another officer's bullet, later determined to be Burford's, in a Sept. 12, 2009 shootout.
Goodwin said city police involved in that incident acted appropriately and the city is not liable to Jones.
Attorney Cynthia Ranson filed the suit in September after sending a letter to City Attorney Paul Ellis seeking a $1 million settlement. Ellis said he was "shocked and saddened" by the action.
Mayor Danny Jones declined to comment.
At the time the lawsuit was filed, the mayor said, "It was the worst thing to happen under my watch with the death of this young police officer. It's very sad and this just revives it. But we will defend the city vigorously."
Samantha Jones contended in the complaint that Burford exhibited "deliberate indifference" to police department policies and training and said the city failed to properly train and supervise officers.
Jerry Jones, 27, was killed on Quick Road after officers pursued Brian Scott Good, 31, of Miliken. Good also was killed in the incident.
Police chased Good after he rammed a vehicle on the West Side in a domestic dispute, but lost him. Jones later spotted Good's vehicle and pursued him again with aid from other officers.
His truck was blocked by cruisers, and when they feared he would ram those vehicles, 16 shots were fired. Jones was hit just above his bulletproof vest.
His widow contended in her lawsuit that Christopher Burford intentionally fired his weapon at Brian Good's vehicle before and without accounting for the location of his fellow officers, including Jerry Jones.
In his dismissal of the suit, Goodwin wrote, "It was not unreasonable for the officers to believe that the suspect was dangerous and that he intended to use his truck as a weapon.
"The court can only conclude that Officer Burford's action in discharging his weapon were not so irrational and arbitrary as to constitute a "brutal and inhumane abuse of official power literally shocking to the conscience."
Ranson said her client would appeal the decision.
"Ms. Jones will aggressively pursue the cause of action on behalf of her husband, Charleston Police Officer Jerry Jones and other officers who may be similarly situated in the future.
"Ms. Jones hopes in doing so she may prevent other officers and their families from suffering the same devastating and preventable loss of life," Ranson said.
According to the city, even without recovering any damages from a lawsuit, the widow was entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits of $30,000 per year up to $1.7 million, $16,000 in pension benefits per year and a one-time payment of $300,000 from the federal government.
Contact writer Cheryl Caswell at [email protected] or 304-348-4832.
Copyright 2012 Charleston Newspapers
