Post by Okwes on Mar 22, 2007 15:03:09 GMT -5
Family of American Indian killed by park police suing NJ
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer
NEWARK, N.J. -- The family of a Ramapough Lenape Indian fatally shot by a state park police officer last year plan to file a civil rights lawsuit Thursday against the officer, the state and others, claiming they used excessive force against an unarmed man.
The family of Emil Mann plans to hold a news conference outside the Bergen County Courthouse Thursday afternoon after its lawyers file the suit in state Superior Court. It will name Park Police Officer Chad Walder, other officers at the scene, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state of New Jersey as defendants, said attorney Eric Hecker.
"This was excessive force," Hecker said. "He was unarmed. They were not in any physical altercation, much less struggle."
He declined to discuss details about the lawsuit.
Mann, 45, of Monroe, N.Y., was shot to death on April 1, 2006 on the mountaintop near the New York border after a confrontation with Walder under circumstances that remain in dispute.
Tribe members say Mann was trying to break up a fight between a cousin and a different park police officer, who was issuing tickets to people for illegally riding all-terrain vehicles in a prohibited area.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office is still investigating the shooting. The Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the park police, had no comment Wednesday.
Shortly after the shooting, Gov. Jon S. Corzine met with Ramapough leaders and promised an investigation into the killing. He also appointed a commission to study American Indian communities in New Jersey regarding civil rights, access to education, fair housing, infrastructure, employment and health care.
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer
NEWARK, N.J. -- The family of a Ramapough Lenape Indian fatally shot by a state park police officer last year plan to file a civil rights lawsuit Thursday against the officer, the state and others, claiming they used excessive force against an unarmed man.
The family of Emil Mann plans to hold a news conference outside the Bergen County Courthouse Thursday afternoon after its lawyers file the suit in state Superior Court. It will name Park Police Officer Chad Walder, other officers at the scene, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state of New Jersey as defendants, said attorney Eric Hecker.
"This was excessive force," Hecker said. "He was unarmed. They were not in any physical altercation, much less struggle."
He declined to discuss details about the lawsuit.
Mann, 45, of Monroe, N.Y., was shot to death on April 1, 2006 on the mountaintop near the New York border after a confrontation with Walder under circumstances that remain in dispute.
Tribe members say Mann was trying to break up a fight between a cousin and a different park police officer, who was issuing tickets to people for illegally riding all-terrain vehicles in a prohibited area.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office is still investigating the shooting. The Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the park police, had no comment Wednesday.
Shortly after the shooting, Gov. Jon S. Corzine met with Ramapough leaders and promised an investigation into the killing. He also appointed a commission to study American Indian communities in New Jersey regarding civil rights, access to education, fair housing, infrastructure, employment and health care.