Family of man allegedly shot by Petal police officer files wrongful death lawsuit

Lici Beveridge | Hattiesburg American

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The family of a man allegedly fatally shot by a Petal police officer has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit, naming the city of Petal, Police Chief Leonard Fuller and "officer John Doe" as defendants.

The lawsuit, filed June 1, alleges the use of excessive force, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and battery and assault in connection to the death of 34-year-old Marc Brandon Davis on June 2, 2017.

The defense has not filed a response.

Petal Mayor Hal Marx said he cannot comment on litigation, but added the officer was not charged.

"I can say that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation thoroughly investigated the shooting incident and our officer was cleared of any wrongdoing," he said. "There were numerous witnesses to the incident. I am confident that our officer did nothing wrong."

Plaintiffs include Davis' minor children and their mother, Yoshanta Albert.

Davis, of LaPlace, Louisiana, and another individual were involved in a motor vehicle accident at Leeville Road and Mississippi 42 in which an altercation followed, allegedly with the police officer.

The name of the officer has never been released.

"(There was an altercation) with one of the people involved in that car wreck, then shots were fired and one individual was fatally wounded," said Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, in an earlier story. "To my knowledge, the other individual did not (fire shots), but that's still all subject to the investigation."

More: Man dies after being shot by police in Petal

More: Autopsy: Man killed by Petal officer was shot multiple times

Davis was taken to Forrest General Hospital to be treated for his wounds, but died soon after he arrived.

Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict said Davis was shot multiple times.

According to the lawsuit, the unnamed officer "suddenly, unexpectedly and without warning shot Marc Davis without justification."

The officer allegedly did not immediately call for emergency medical services for Davis, which caused him "extreme physical and emotional pain and suffering and was a contributing cause of his serious injuries."

The lawsuit further states Davis was unarmed and did not possess any weapons.

Fuller is accused of failing to properly train, supervise and discipline Petal police officers.

Fuller, however, was director of the Hattiesburg Police Department's police academy before becoming Petal's police chief.

The lawsuit also says Fuller "developed, implemented, enforced and sanctioned de facto policies, practices and/or customs exhibiting deliberate indifference to the plaintiffs' civil and constitutional rights."

The plaintiffs allege the city knew or had reason to know of the alleged negative practices of the Petal Police Department.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

The officer-involved shooting in Petal took place seven months after another officer-involved shooting in Hattiesburg.

Around 1 p.m. Nov. 25, 2016, a Hattiesburg police officer spotted someone driving down the road who appeared to be a suspect in a burglary and credit card fraud, according to previous reports.

When the officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the suspect failed to respond.

The suspect's vehicle eventually was stopped at Old Airport Road and Att Avenue in the Palmers Crossing area of Hattiesburg, where he fled on foot. The suspect allegedly fired shots at the officer in pursuit, who returned fire, striking the suspect.

Jerome Chris Harmon, 23, of Hattiesburg died later that night at Forrest General Hospital.

A phone call to District Attorney Patricia Burchell seeking information on both cases was not returned as of Friday afternoon.