As reported by Fredricksburg.com and other media, an unarmed woman that was parked in a Catholic school parking lot did not threaten a police officer that approached her car, even when the officer allegedly chose to "bully", "coerce", and then shoot her.
In trying to escape, Culpeper resident, P.A.C., 54, wrapped her car around a utility pole and was declared dead at the scene.
The woman's husband, G.D.C., has filed a wrongful death against the officer, known as both D.H.W. and D.W.S. G.D.C. is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $350,000 in punitive damages from the officer.
At the time of the filing the grand jury was scheduled to meet to weigh the facts of the case.
The suit states, "Defendant (D.H.W.'s) actions constituted willful and wanton misconduct" when he chose to shoot the victim "multiple times without just cause or excuse."
J. Gregory Webb and Kevin W. Ryan of a Charlottesville-based law firm are representing G.D.C.
While parked in her Jeep Wrangler in the Epiphany Catholic School annex at approximately 10 in the morning on February 9, P.A.C. was approached by officer D.H.W.
D.H.W., a five-year police veteran, was allegedly responding to a call about a suspicious person.
The lawsuit states that the officer approached the Jeep on foot, and though P.A.C. "had not committed any criminal act (and) she was not engaged in any criminal activity…was unarmed and posed no physical threat to the defendant", the officer "spoke to her in an aggressive and demanding manner."
The suit states that in reaction to the officer's threatening attitude, P.A.C. began using the manual lever to raise her window up. At this point, according to the suit, "(D.H.W.) spoke to her in a loud, argumentative, aggressive and demanding manner…and threatened to shoot Mrs. (P.A.C.) if she did not stop rolling up her car window."
Without "probable cause", according to the suit, the officer could not arrest P.A.C. The suit further alleges that the officer did not "have a reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed or was about to be committed by her."
The suit states that the officer "shot her at close range and continued firing at her as she attempted to depart."
In attempting to flee, P.A.C. slowly drove her vehicle on East Street before coming to a stop when she ran into a utility pole.
The suit added, "When defendant (D.H.W) attempted to bully and coerce Mrs. (P.A.C.) into complying with his commands by raising his voice and threatening to shoot her, she was lawfully entitled to refuse to comply (and) to depart unharmed…In Virginia, a police officer has no right to inflict serious bodily harm on a person who is simply fleeing arrest for a misdemeanor, much less a person who has committed no crime and who is simply exercising her right to decline to speak with a police officer."
Loosing a loved one is difficult in any given situation. If you lost a loved one in a wrongful death circumstance contact a personal injury lawyer to file your lawsuit right away!