The University and two of its police officers are being sued after a Duke Hospital patient was fatally shot by one of the officers in 2010.
Duke University Police Officers Larry Carter and Jeffrey Liberto were responding to a suspicious person report outside of the hospital when 25-year-old Aaron Dorsey attempted to seize one of the officers' weapons. The other officer responded by fatally shooting Dorsey in the head. Court papers indicate that Dorsey was a hospital patient.
Adam Stein, the Chapel Hill lawyer representing the administrator of Dorsey's estate, told the News and Observer that the officers are accused of using "unreasonable and excessive force against the unarmed and helpless [Dorsey]."
Separately from the claims against the officers, the University is being sued for inadequately training its officers and "improperly investigating citizen complaints of police misconduct," according to the lawsuit.
It has not been released which officer was attacked by Dorsey and which fired the shot. But it was revealed weeks after the incident that both Carter and Liberto had non-fatal weapons with them, and Dorsey was unarmed.
The lawsuit claimed that Carter and Liberto's actions were a violation of federal civil rights.
"[The shooting] was without legal justification or provocation, and was employed without objectively fearing for their, or another’s life/lives, and therefore amounted to unnecessary, unreasonable, excessive, and/or deadly force," according to the federal complaint filed May 7.
Carter is still employed by DUPD, and Liberto currently works for the Durham Police Department. Stein seeks $225,000 for two civil rights claims and one wrongful death claim.
"Mr. Dorsey’s death was a tragedy and our sympathies go to his family and friends," Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, said to the News and Observer.
"However, both internal and external investigations of the incident have found that the Duke officers acted properly and responsibly given the circumstances, and we intend to vigorously defend against this lawsuit."
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