A wrongful death lawsuit is being filed by a family member of a Hampton, Virginia (VA), man who was shot dead in his home by members of the Hampton Police Department who were executing a search warrant for illegal selling of prescription drugs, the Daily Press reported. According to the newspaper, the court filing states that the police “executed” William A. Cooper during a shootout on Clifton Street on June 18, 2011.
View Clifton Street, Hampton on a larger map
Hampton police say they “announced their presence with knocks,” the Daily Press reported, before breaking down Cooper’s his door. They said that he opened fire on them inside the home, and two officers fired back at him, killing Cooper.
As experienced Virginia wrongful death attorneys, my law firm colleagues and I believe any case in which officers use deadly force is a concern. At the same time, we are aware of the dangers police officers face each day on the streets of cities such as Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
We have also reported on cases in which police appear to have acted incorrectly. In April, 2011, we noted how the City of Lynchburg in Virginia, reached a settlement in a $12.5 million wrongful death case brought by the family of a man who died in police custody. More recently, we wrote about how a county in Washington State reached a $10 million settlement with a man who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury after a sheriff’s deputy shoved him into a wall.
Wrongful death cases we have handled include one for the widow of a CSX railroad worker who lost his life to lung cancer. The jury in that lawsuit handled by my colleague Rick Shapiro returned an $8.6 million verdict for the plaintiff.
DM