Family of man killed by police sues officer, Killeen
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 3 2009 04:02 AM
By Mason W. Canales
Killeen Daily HeraldThe mother of a soldier killed by Killeen police in March has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court in Waco.
Catherine Marie Galloway and Antonio Jaylen Galloway, 2, filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against Killeen police officer James Plank and the city of Killeen on Tuesday. As of Friday, the city had not received official notice of the pending litigation.
Catherine's son, Jarvis Galloway, was shot by Plank during what police have previously said was a fight for the officer's life, a statement the civil lawsuit claims is false.
"Ms. Galloway, on behalf of herself as well as Mr. Galloway's young son, filed the lawsuit to uncover the truth, hold the officer and the city accountable, and make sure that this type of thing does not happen again," her attorney, Mark Hefter, said in a news release.
On March 1, Plank responded to a fight in the parking lot of the Spur's Night Club in Killeen and later shot Jarvis Galloway.
According to information from Killeen Police Department, Plank was attempting to stop Averweone Darneel Holman from fleeing the scene. Plank grabbed Holman as he tried to jump into the passenger side window of the Chevy Trailblazer Galloway was driving.
Plank became stuck and yelled for Galloway to stop but he accelerated, stated Holman's arrest affidavit. Plank then freed an arm and shot Galloway as Plank was thrown from the car.
Holman pleaded guilty to a charge of evading arrest with a motor vehicle on June 3.
According to the federal civil lawsuit, Galloway was slowly pulling his vehicle away when the suspect jumped through the window. Plank quickly caught the suspect and attempted to pull him out of the car.
"When Mr. Galloway saw what was happening, he brought his vehicle to a complete stop, took his hands off the steering wheel and put them up in the air," the lawsuit states. "Nevertheless, Plank drew his firearm, reached inside the front passenger window and pointed this firearm directly at Mr. Galloway. Plank then proceeded to shoot Mr. Galloway at point-blank range."
The vehicle began moving after Galloway was shot, hit a trash dumpster, slammed into a parked car and then several handrails before crashing into a building, the lawsuit stated.
Eyewitnesses corroborated the account in the lawsuit, Hefter said. The lawsuit claims the witnesses were intimidated by investigators to change their stories to match Plank's account.
The autopsy performed by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas doesn't state whether Galloway's hands were in the air or on the vehicle's steering wheel when he was shot.
The autopsy does state that a bullet entered his right arm 18 inches below the top of his head. The bullet then exited his arm at 17 inches below the top of his head. And it re-enters his chest at 17½ inches below the top of his head.
Carroll Smith, KPD's public information coordinator, directed all questions about the lawsuit to City Attorney Kathy Davis.
Killeen has not yet been served papers about the case, so Davis could only give general answers on Friday.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court because it is a death suit and has to deal with civil rights, which falls under federal law, Davis said.
Prior to this, the family did file an insurance claim with the city, Davis said. The city sent that claim to the Texas Municipal League, which will also handle any litigation for the city in the Galloway suit.
"(That claim) is the first step before filing a lawsuit, and sometimes it is a tool used in negotiating a settlement," Davis said.
Contact Mason W. Canales at
mcanales@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7554.