By John Diedrich
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE — The closely watched civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of Justin Fields, who was shot as he drove away from a Milwaukee police officer five years ago, has entered mediation and the trial has been put off, raising the possibility of a settlement.
A trial had been scheduled to begin this month, but the city and plaintiffs agreed to remove that date from the calendar of U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller while they mediate the case before Magistrate Judge William Callahan, according to federal court documents filed this week.
They are to appear again before Stadtmueller on Nov. 6, and there could still be a trial. Neither side would comment Thursday.
In 2003, Fields was shot and killed by Officer Craig Nawotka as Fields was driving away from N. King Drive and W. North Ave. Fields had fled police after an earlier incident on N. Water St. and crashed his car. Nawotka justified the shooting by saying Fields was trying to run him over and presented a danger to the public.
An inquest jury found Nawotka’s actions justified, and he was not charged with any state crime. Nawotka was suspended for 30 days and is still an officer.
In 2005, local federal prosecutors told Fields’ family that Nawotka would be criminally charged. After Justice Department officials in Washington reviewed the case, the decision was made to not charge him.
This year, Stadtmueller ruled there is evidence that Milwaukee police practices might have endorsed officers’ improper use of deadly force. The ruling handed Fields’ family a victory by allowing it to bring in evidence of other police shootings during a trial.
Claims that police policies contribute to unjustified deadly shootings are rarely allowed to go to trial anywhere in the country.
Specifically in the Fields case, the judge also said the evidence presented so far showed that neither Nawotka nor anyone else was in danger from Fields.
While the sides are in mediation, they continue to file a flurry of motions and countermotions in preparation for a possible trial.
The city wants to present evidence that Fields had mental health treatments before the shooting, according to depositions. Mark Thomsen, attorney for the family, has countered that the treatment was irrelevant and that Nawotka didn’t know about Fields’ mental health history.
Copyright 2008 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel