A Little Rock police officer seeking immunity from a lawsuit alleging she illegally used deadly force had her petition to the U.S. Supreme Court denied Tuesday.
The suit against officer Donna Lesher, filed by the son of Eugene Ellison, may now proceed to civil jury trial under U.S. District Court Judge Brian Miller.
Miller's court said Tuesday it had not received word of the Supreme Court's decision and that the parties of the lawsuit will need to notify the court of their intentions before the suit continues.
Ellison, 67, was killed in 2010 when Lesher and another officer, Tabitha McCrillis, entered his apartment at Big Country Chateau apartments on Colonel Glenn Road. Police said Lesher shot Ellison after he became angry and prepared to attack the officers with a cane, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
Both officers were working as security guards at the apartment complex when the shooting occurred. Both remain on full-time duty with the department, spokesman Lt. Steven McClanahan said.
Lesher sought "qualified immunity" against the family's civil-rights lawsuit, which is granted to officers in performance of their duties. In September, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied Lesher's petition for immunity but granted it to McCrillis.
McClanahan referred comment to the city's attorney's office, which did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.