$1.25 Million settlement reached in Michigan wrongful death case
On May 21, 2008, Southfield attorney and NPAP board member David Robinson achieved an important victory when he settled the wrongful death case of Tim Curry v. Clinton Township for $1.25 Mio.
The case began in February 2001, when Tim Curry was shot and killed by officers of the Clinton Township Police Department (CTPD). Curry was shot 14 times, and all the shots, except for a contact shot to the side, were into Curry’s back as he lay on the floor. The defendant police officers claimed that the shooting was justified because they feared for their life after Tim Curry allegedly shot and killed police officer Richard Vauris. However, Robinson and his team uncovered facts that strongly suggested that the officer’s death was the result of a fellow officer’s accidental discharge of his service weapon. The evidence at the scene, the ballistics /forensics and eyewitness testimony contradicted the defendant’s version that Tim Curry ever had a weapon or shot the officer. According to Robinson, the use of a ballistics/firearms expert was critical in determining causation to defeat the police version of events.
Beside the claims against the officers for excessive force, wrongful death and gross negligence the cause of action furthermore contained claims against Chief of Police Alexander Ernst for failure to investigate the death and circumstances surrounding the death of Tim Curry and failure to supervise.
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