The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a petition to hear the case of a Little Rock police officer who sought immunity from a lawsuit alleging she illegally used deadly force.
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The suit against officer Donna Lesher, filed by the family of Eugene Ellison, may now proceed to civil jury trial under U.S. District Judge Brian Miller.
Miller's court said Tuesday that it had not received word of the Supreme Court's decision and that the parties of the lawsuit would need to notify the court of their intentions before the suit continues.
Ellison, 67, died inside his Big Country Chateau apartment on Colonel Glenn Road after he was shot by Lesher on Dec. 9, 2010. Lesher and another officer, Tabitha McCrillis, entered Ellison's apartment when they found the door open, and Lesher shot Ellison after he became angry and prepared to attack the officers with a cane, police have said.
Both officers were working as security guards at the apartment complex when the shooting occurred. Both remain on full-time duty with the Little Rock Police Department, spokesman Lt. Steven McClanahan said.
McClanahan referred a request for further comment to the city attorney's office, which did not immediately return the request Tuesday.
Lesher had sought "qualified immunity" against the civil-rights lawsuit. Such immunity shields officers from being sued for performing their duties unless their conduct violated a clearly established right.
On Sept. 11, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider an order that Lesher face trial on the deadly force claim. A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit had previously upheld a federal court ruling that Lesher wasn't entitled to immunity but reversed an identical ruling pertaining to McCrillis.
The panel also said both women must face trial on allegations that they illegally entered Ellison's apartment.
The wrongful-death lawsuit was filed by Ellison's son, Troy Ellison, who is also a Little Rock police officer.
In addition to Lesher and McCrillis, the other defendants are the apartment complex and its owner, Carl Schultz, who hired the officers to work off duty.
Information for this article was contributed by Linda Satter of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A Section on 01/20/2016