Eugene Ellison, a 67 year old black male, was shot to death by two police officers who entered his home without a warrant on December 9, 2010. Mr. Ellison was the father of a Little Rock Police Department police officer.

See the  Laux Law Group’s letter (below) to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting an investigation of the Eugene Ellison case.

Eugene Ellison: Little Rock’s Michael Brown

On Dec. 9, 2010, Ellison, a 67-year-old black man, was killed in his home by Donna Lesher, an off-duty police officer. Ellison was involved in a confrontation with Lesher and Officer Tabitha McCrillis after the two came upon Ellison’s open door while working off-duty security at the Big Country Chateau Apartments near University Avenue and went inside to investigate. The two officers called for backup. According to an on-duty officer who arrived on the scene, Lesher stepped outside the apartment. When Ellison picked up his cane, she shot him without issuing any warning.

An internal investigation into Ellison’s killing by the LRPD homicide division cleared Lesher of all wrongdoing. Lesher’s husband, Sgt. James Lesher, heads the division.

Ellison’s sons — both veterans of the Little Rock Police Department — filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2011 alleging that their father’s civil rights were violated. The case is still moving toward trial.

Just a few weeks ago, Attorney General Eric Holder and former President Bill Clinton held a forum, “Race Relations and Community Policing,” in Little Rock. Attorneys representing the family of Ellison made a public request to the attorney general to investigate the LRPD “pattern and practice” of shootings similar to what happened in Ferguson, Mo.

Read the rest of this story on Arkansas Times website

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