FORT SMITH - The family of a Fort Smith man shot and killed by police last week says they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officer.
Eric Berry's dad, J.W., used the word murder to describe what happened to his son. We talked to him by phone earlier today from his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, his sister Marsha writes that his wife had no intention of filing charges against Eric. In an email to 5NEWS, Eric Berry's sister Marsha writes that he was having a terrible couple of days and that he and his wife had a marital spat. She says emotions were running high last Wednesday. Officers were called to the home by his wife Connie during a domestic dispute.
According to police Berry was shot and killed by Corporal Brandon Davis after he was repeatedly told to drop a gun he allegedly aimed at officers. Marsha Berry writes that the officers could have backed out of the house and tried to talk Eric out. She says, "The point is that there was nobody in the house that was in danger and nobody outside the house that was in danger. There was no emergency, no urgency." Ms. Berry alleges that officers kicked the door in as Connie opened it. But an official statement from Fort Smith Police reads that "The officers didn't force their way in, Mrs. Berry opened the door and let them in...the officers believed they were in danger when they were attempting to effect the arrest."
Sgt. Levi Risley writes that they were there because Mrs. Berry had previously reported being beaten and threatened with a gun. Referencing the recent shooting of Corporal Barney Parsons, Marsha Berry asks: "Could this have been an act of retribution by a group of trigger happy cops?" Police insist it was not.
His sister notes the tragic irony that her brother, a gulf war vet, was shot and killed on Veterans Day. Officer Davis was wearing a camera during the incident. The Berry family alleges police acted recklessly to try out new technology. Sgt. Levi Risley responded that the camera has no bearing on "the suspect's threatening actions towards the officers."
Eric Berry's dad, J.W., used the word murder to describe what happened to his son. We talked to him by phone earlier today from his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, his sister Marsha writes that his wife had no intention of filing charges against Eric. In an email to 5NEWS, Eric Berry's sister Marsha writes that he was having a terrible couple of days and that he and his wife had a marital spat. She says emotions were running high last Wednesday. Officers were called to the home by his wife Connie during a domestic dispute.
According to police Berry was shot and killed by Corporal Brandon Davis after he was repeatedly told to drop a gun he allegedly aimed at officers. Marsha Berry writes that the officers could have backed out of the house and tried to talk Eric out. She says, "The point is that there was nobody in the house that was in danger and nobody outside the house that was in danger. There was no emergency, no urgency." Ms. Berry alleges that officers kicked the door in as Connie opened it. But an official statement from Fort Smith Police reads that "The officers didn't force their way in, Mrs. Berry opened the door and let them in...the officers believed they were in danger when they were attempting to effect the arrest."
Sgt. Levi Risley writes that they were there because Mrs. Berry had previously reported being beaten and threatened with a gun. Referencing the recent shooting of Corporal Barney Parsons, Marsha Berry asks: "Could this have been an act of retribution by a group of trigger happy cops?" Police insist it was not.
His sister notes the tragic irony that her brother, a gulf war vet, was shot and killed on Veterans Day. Officer Davis was wearing a camera during the incident. The Berry family alleges police acted recklessly to try out new technology. Sgt. Levi Risley responded that the camera has no bearing on "the suspect's threatening actions towards the officers."
