Attorneys for the family of a Marine veteran who was slain in his home by White Plains, N.Y., police officers, filed a $21 million civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan this week, according to Black America Web.
The lawsuit, on behalf of the family of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., was filed Monday, less than two months after a Westchester County grand jury decided not to indict officers involved in the case, and names the City of White Plains, the White Plains Housing Authority and eight police officers as liable in the incident.
On Nov. 19, the 68-year-old Chamberlain was shot to death by White Plains Police Officer Anthony Carelli following a confrontation at Chamberlain's apartment, where police responded to a medical alert from a Life Aid device.
Chamberlain, who had a heart condition, apparently accidentally pressed the device in his sleep. When police arrived, he refused to let them enter his apartment, explaining the call was a mistake.
LifeAid Medical Alert Services, the company that issued the medical device, confirmed to police that the call was a mistake, but the officers insisted on being admitted into the apartment.
The exchange was captured by an audio recording on the medical device, as well as a video camera on a police taser gun used on Chamberlain.
The family's lawyer, Randolph McLaughlin, points to similarities between Chamberlain and Trayvon Martin's case, except that Chamberlain was killed by sworn officers charged with upholding the law and Martin by a vigilante. He argues a good point. We hope the family finds justice on their terms.
Read more at Black America Web.