Use of force lawsuit filed against Arlington officer should go to trial, court says
A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss an excessive use of force lawsuit against the city of Arlington and an Arlington police officer.
U.S District Judge Mark Pittman wrote that the family of Tavis Crane should be allowed to pursue their claims in court. The family alleges that Crane was a victim of the unnecessary use of deadly force.
“This is a tragedy that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old man and the injury of an officer, which was all caused by the actions of Craig Roper,” said Daryl Washington, the attorney representing the Crane family.
Arlington officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment concerning the court’s opinion.
Crane’s vehicle was the subject of a traffic stop by Arlington police officer Elise Bowden in February 2017. Two other Arlington officers arrived and one, Craig Roper, climbed in the back seat, placed his left arm around Crane’s neck and pointed his gun at Crane’s right side, the opinion states. Roper then shouted at Crane to turn off the car or he would kill him, according to Pittman’s opinion.
Pittman’s analysis draws from the family’s version of the facts and says that Crane was not an immediate threat to Roper or anyone before he was shot at least twice in the side. Roper was behind Crane during the incident and Crane did not have a weapon, Pittman’s opinion said.
Crane was shot after reaching for his keys to turn off his car as he was ordered, the opinion said.
Based on the facts as presented by the family, the court said the vehicle went out of control after Roper shot Crane. Bowden was injured when she was struck by the vehicle.
