The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An attorney for two police officers who are defendants in a civil wrongful death trial argued the two men used deadly force only after they were seriously threatened.
An attorney for Randall Carr, 38, the man who was shot, said at the start of trial Monday that police were not justified in the Nov. 21, 2000, shooting.
“They violated Randall Carr’s constitutional rights and took his life,” said attorney John Merritt, who is representing Carr’s family.
“They shot him eight times in the back while he was running away with no weapon, unarmed, and they continued to shoot him while he was lying on the ground.”
Robert Manchester, who represents Randy Castle and Jerry K. Bowen, the two officers who shot Carr, said that the shooting did not happen that way and that the officers were threatened.
"(Carr) picked up that chunk of concrete and waved it defiantly,” Manchester said. "(Castle) had a man running directly at him with a chunk of concrete.”
Carr was shot east of the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Carr’s father, Rodric, filed the lawsuit in January 2001 and at the time asked for $50 million in damages. Oklahoma City was at first listed as a defendant, but was dismissed from the lawsuit about a year later.
In recent court papers, Merritt said his client is asking for an award of more than $75,000 for Carr’s wrongful death; more than $75,000 for pain and suffering and more than $75,000 in punitive damages.
On the day of the shooting, Carr had some sort of dispute with his landlord, attorneys agreed.
Manchester said Carr assaulted officers, hitting one in the face and another in the groin.
Merritt said that actually police yanked Carr out of his apartment and he broke away and ran from officers.