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| Updated: 10/08/2012 6:30 pm |
Published: 10/08/2012 1:30 pm |
LITTLE ROCK, AR - The family of a man shot and killed by two Little Rock Police officers is asking U.S Attorney General Eric Holder to get involved. Eugene Ellison was gunned down in his home nearly two years ago.
Attorneys representing the family of Eugene Ellison, which include an LRPD sergeant, are asking for federal intervention for what they called a flawed system of internal investigations at LRPD.
It's now nearly two years since two off duty little rock police officers shot and killed Ellison. His son, LRPD Sgt Troy Ellison says it's not any easier to deal with.
"Everyday is a battle,” Ellison says. “I never know if I'm going to come into contact with the officers involved or the supervisor of the officers involved, how am I going to react when I see them."
The two officers Donna Lesher and Tabitha McCrillis claimed the shooting followed a struggle with the 67-year old man inside his Big Country Chateau apartments at 6200 Colonel Glenn on Dec 9, 2010.
LRPD Chief Stuart Thomas asked for assistance from Arkansas State Police on the investigation. ASP declined because ten days had passed since the shooting before the request was made.
LRPD subsequently ruled it a good shooting with no criminal charges for either officer.
Flanked by his attorneys Monday, Ellison says he's asking Holder to start a civil rights investigation.
"We feel like there are still a lot of questions out there that we haven't received (answers to), our family hasn't received,” Ellison says. “And we want to get a close to this as soon as possible."
A wrongful death civil suit already filed seeks what attorney Mike Laux calls an "unbiased" internal investigation.
"It starts with the questioners of the suspects not being Facebook friends or bowling buddies or relatives or being hunting buddies,” Laux says. “It starts with an objective clean slate."
LRPD won't comment on the new claims citing the on going civil litigation but says all documents requested by the U.S. Department of Justice related to the shooting investigation were handed over in early 2011.
