Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ A federal judge has thrown out a manslaughter case against a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who fatally shot an unarmed drug suspect in the back, calling it an ``ill-advised prosecution.’'
The agent, Jude Tanella, ``demonstrated restraint, sound judgment and courage in the proper exercise of his sworn duty to protect the public,’' U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis wrote in a 35-page decision issued Wednesday in Brooklyn.
The rare manslaughter case against a veteran agent had outraged DEA officials, who said Tanella acted in self-defense while struggling with a dangerous suspect on May 1, 2002. The suspect, Egbert Dewgard, was carrying more than six pounds of cocaine before he was killed, authorities said.
The decision ``says that agents who are sworn to protect the public don’t give up the right to protect themselves,’' said Tony Placido, head of the DEA’s New York office.
Garaufis had previously ruled the case should be heard in federal court. There _ unlike state court _ the agent’s lawyers were allowed to argue he was immune from criminal charges because the shooting was the result of his federal duties.
State prosecutors countered that deadly force was ``inappropriate’’ because Dewgard was a suspect in a nonviolent crime, unarmed and trying to flee when he was shot.
Garaufis blasted the prosecutors, labeling their case a ``fanciful journey’’ based on ``remarkable assertions.’'
The judge cited evidence that before the shooting, Dewgard led agents on a car chase in which he rammed the car of another officer and almost struck a woman and her child who were walking on a sidewalk. He also repeatedly punched Tanella during their struggle on the street.
“Apparently, it is the state’s view that Dewgard’s high-speed ‘Tour de Brooklyn’ ... was simply a scenic excursion,’' the judge wrote.
“This type of ill-advised prosecution, if unchecked, will surely chill federal-state law enforcement cooperation on many fronts,’' he added.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said he was “surprised at the gratuitous nature” of the ruling, and planned to appeal.
Dewgard’s family has said it would file a wrongful death suit. A call to a family attorney was not immediately returned.