In lawsuit, family alleges Little Rock officer knew man she fatally shot outside bar, may have had 'romantic feelings' for him

A crime scene technician collects evidence on the car involved in an Oct. 7, 2017, crash and shooting in a University Avenue parking lot in Little Rock.
A crime scene technician collects evidence on the car involved in an Oct. 7, 2017, crash and shooting in a University Avenue parking lot in Little Rock.

The family of James Hartsfield, a part-time Lyft driver who was shot and killed in October 2017 outside a Little Rock bar by an off-duty police officer working as a security guard, alleged Monday that the officer knew Hartsfield and may have had "romantic feelings" for him.

The allegations against officer Brittany Gunn, who was later cleared of wrongdoing by the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney's office, were made in a civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Hartsfield's two sisters by attorney Mike Laux.

The lawsuit accuses Gunn of violating Hartsfield's constitutional rights and also names as defendants the city and Local Union, the bar that hired Gunn. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys' fees.

Hartsfield, 28, drove a 2004 Mercedes Benz into the parking lot of the Prospect Building at 1501 N. University Ave. at about 4:15 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2017, just as a patron emerged from the bar on the building's first floor and stood, apparently waiting for a transportation service, according to police and the lawsuit's account of events.

The lawsuit and the Little Rock Police Department's account of the shooting differ after that.

The lawsuit states that the patron, Brian Moore, who was seen carrying a bottle of beer and appeared intoxicated, got into the Mercedes after Hartsfield indicated he was with a transportation service.

Police agreed that Moore got into the Mercedes, but have said that Hartsfield appeared to be drinking an alcoholic beverage while driving, and refused to follow Gunn's orders to stop the car and get out of the vehicle. Police said an altercation ensued, and after Gunn called for backup, another officer arrived to find Gunn in the passenger side of the car, struggling with the driver.

Police say the second officer, Nicholas Smith, went to the car door and tried, with Gunn, to remove the driver, who "continued to resist." They say Hartsfield then put the car into drive and sped forward, causing Smith to fall to the ground. Police say Gunn remained in the car as it sped toward a brick wall ringing the parking lot, and fired at Hartsfield just before the vehicle crashed through the wall and ended up on North University Avenue.

They said Hartsfield, who was shot multiple times, was dead at the scene, while Gunn, who was ejected from the car, was found unresponsive and taken to a hospital where she was treated and released.

The lawsuit, however, says that as Moore stood at the front passenger door of the Mercedes, Gunn "saw James and recognized him from UALR," where they had been in a class together and had worked out at the same fitness center, and "decided to engage James in a social capacity," so began a conversation with him.

"However, the conversation did not go as Gunn hoped it would and the situation quickly became heated," the lawsuit states.

It said Gunn, who approached the car from the passenger side, had confiscated a bottle of beer and placed it on the vehicle's roof, but that Moore grabbed it, poured out the contents and threw the bottle somewhere.

The lawsuit alleges that Gunn, also 28 at the time, called to request backup and then reached into the Mercedes and grabbed Hartsfield's "personal items inside his vehicle glove compartment."

It says she also "struck and battered" Hartsfield as she got into the car. She never told Hartsfield that he was under arrest, the suit contends.

According to the lawsuit, Smith arrived to find Gunn inside the Mercedes. It says Gunn "can be heard using" racially charged words on Smith's radio.

The suit contends that Hartsfield "attempted to separate himself" from the officers, and Gunn shot him while he was driving, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and its speed to increase until it crashed through the brick wall, ejecting Gunn in the process.

In a news release announcing the lawsuit, Laux alleged that "Ms. Gunn committed multiple violations of Mr. Hartsfield's constitutional rights when she entered his vehicle and soon thereafter shot and killed him."

He also wrote, "Information has come to light that not only did Ms. Gunn know Mr. Hartsfield at the time of the shooting, but she also had a 'crush' on him stemming from their days together as students" at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

"Ms. Gunn attempted to keep this information hidden during the LRPD 'in-house' criminal homicide investigation and, with the help of her biased co-workers, she nearly pulled it off," Laux wrote.

He alleged that "Ms. Gunn's illegal and unconstitutional actions ... are a part of a long-standing pattern of the LRPD's failure to train its officers in police protocol and the appropriate use of force, if any, during traffic stops."

City Attorney Tom Carpenter, contacted later in the day Monday, said he hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment on it. Asked if he knew anything about the allegations that Gunn knew Hartsfield before the shooting and may have had romantic feelings toward him, he said, "I have no idea. I don't know if it means anything or not."

He noted that he has seen "plenty of plaintiffs" make allegations in lawsuits that later turned out to be far from he truth, and, "Until we investigate it, I can't say anything about it."

No one could be reached at Local Union.

The lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright.

Metro on 05/14/2019

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