A fired police officer, and the town he worked for, have both been named in a lawsuit due to a fatal wreck that occurred in August 2010, as reported by the Moulton Advisor.
The officer, B.S.M., has also been indicted and arrested for two counts of homicide by vehicle. On April the 5
th B.S.M. turned himself in to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s office.
After a grand jury returned indictments, he was processed on the charges.
B.S.M. has since been freed on a bail bond of $10,000.
Along with B.S.M., the town of North Courtland has been named in a civil lawsuit for the wrongful death of married couple, G.W.C. and S.S.C.
The suit was filed on behalf of a family member of the victims, A.C., in circuit court.
Stephen Heninger of Heninger, Garrison, Davis and, Jeff Bowling from Bedford, Rogers and Bowling, filed the suit.
G.W.C and S.S.C. were killed at the scene when an unmarked patrol car driven by B.S.M. collided with their truck.
State troopers said that the accident occurred at Lawrence County 217 and Lawrence County 460. The state trooper’s investigation showed that B.S.M. ran a stop sign at the intersection while on route to assist with a funeral procession.
According to numerous other law enforcement sources, B.S.M. was trying to get to Hillsboro for the procession.
Since the wreck, North Courtland Town Council has fired B.S.M. for his violations of city policy in the occurrence. Prior to firing B.S.M., the officer had first been placed on non-patrol administrative duty.
Before B.S.M. worked for the North Courtland Sheriff’s Department he had been employed by the Somerville Police Department.
The Alabama Attorney General’s office presented the case to the grand jury. The grand jury will be handling the prosecution.
As B.S.M. has no criminal history, he will be punishable for 1 - 5 years upon conviction pursuant to Section 32 of the Alabama vehicular code under “unclassified felonies”.
A jury will set punitive damages in the civil suit, due from both B.S.M. and North Courtland. The jury, according to Alabama civil law, will assess damages “according to the enormity of the wrong.”
In speaking for the victims, Heninger said, “We believe the evidence will establish this was a senseless tragedy caused by a police officer who was violating the law by excessive speed and failure to stop at this intersection. The information we have indicates Officer (B.S.M.) was responding to a call to assist with a funeral motorcade that was not an emergency. He did not obey the Alabama Rules of the Road that require police vehicles to have their lights and siren activated and to yield to other traffic at an intersection even when they are on an emergency run. Police officers must enforce the law and obey it for the safety of others who are lawfully on our highways. Rushing to join a funeral motorcade caused two more funerals. The law of Alabama says the civil award should be focused on punishing this defendant and deterring others from such conduct in the future.”
You are due monetary compensation if you have lost your loved one in a wrongful death! Contact a personal injury lawyer near you today to file your lawsuit.