Veteran's family files wrongful death suit

The parents and widow of an Iraq war veteran from Cape Girardeau who was shot by Delaware police filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday.

On Nov. 6, Sgt. Derek Hale, 25, a decorated Marine who completed two tours of duty in Iraq, was shot and killed on the steps of a Wilmington, Del., home during a police drug raid. According to witness accounts, Hale had been Tasered three times, was incapacitated and did not resist arrest prior to the shooting.

Derek Hale's widow, Elaine, his father, Dennis, and his mother, Connie, filed a 44-page federal suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The suit lists 32 named and unnamed Wilmington police officers and state troopers as well as the city of Wilmington and the Division of State Police as defendants.

"No amount of money could replace my son. I would have loved to come out here and just said, 'We're tired of doing this, now give him back,' but that's just not going to happen. We're having to do things we don't want to do now. This is the time for us to step up and help make some changes," said Connie Hale of Cape Girardeau in a telephone interview.

The Hale family said the lawsuit is first and foremost about "clearing Derek's good name" and changing the way police are trained to use deadly force.

Elaine Hale, widow of Derek Hale, wiped tears from her eyes while visiting the scene of her husband's death in Wilmington, Del., during a private memorial service Friday. (Carla Varisco ~ The News Journal)

The lawsuit asks for unspecified monetary awards and written apologies for the shooting death. It also asks for a mandatory injunction for Wilmington Police and Delaware State police to "properly train their officers in the use of Tasers and deadly force."

The family's attorneys say there is no evidence Hale, who was a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club in his home of Manassas, Va., was ever associated with illegal drug activity. His parents say he never drank anything stronger than Dr Pepper. The suit claims Hale traveled to Wilmington for a Toys for Tots fund-raiser.

After the charity event the day of the shooting, Hale was house-sitting for a fellow member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club. The suit says he was joined by another person, Sandra Lopez, and her two young children.

The suit alleges police officers knew from wiretaps and heavy surveillance that Hale was not involved in drug activity and was unarmed. It also alleges the undercover police clad in all black "swarmed" at the moment when children would be at the greatest risk.

"Why in the world did they do this out in public with two children there?" said the Hales' attorney, Tom Neuberger.

Not identifying themselves as police and conducting the raid in the presence of "innocent third persons" violate Delaware state statutes, the suit said.

'That's overkill'

The suit cites several witnesses saying Hale was "immediately" Tasered by police while sitting on the steps of the house. That caused him to shake and convulse uncontrollably. Police continued to demand Hale put his hands up before Tasering Hale again.

After the second Taser shock, Harold Mixson, a contractor working at the house next door, says he shouted, "That's not necessary, that's overkill, that's overkill."

According to Mixson, an unnamed police officer responded, "I'll f-----g show you overkill." By this time, Hale was vomiting and was Tasered a third time while prostrate.

After the third Taser, with police continuing to demand he put his hands up, Hale yelled, "I'm trying to get my hands out," but according to the suit he was paralyzed from the electrical currents.

The SWAT team's commanding officer, Lt. William Brown, fired three rounds into Hale's chest. None of the seven other officers discharged their weapons.

Under Wilmington Police Department continuum of force rules, officers should have shot pepper spray before resorting to deadly force, the suit said.

Elaine Hale works as a nurse's assistant in Virginia and said she's barely making ends meet to care for her two young children, one of whom is Derek's. Her husband was pursuing a homeland security degree at a local college, she said.

Asked about the details of the police shooting, she said, "it's nauseating."

The three family members and Neuberger went to the site of the shooting Friday to leave roses and pray.

Neuberger believes the case will go to trial in the next 18 months. "They will fight us to the death on this case; that's just how it goes," he said.

Cape Girardeau dentist Dr. David Crowe said he plans to collect money for the Hales' legal fees. The legal team has spent about $200,000 already investigating and preparing the case and final costs will likely exceed $1 million, Neuberger said.

"Everyone that knows Derek was so shocked because he was such a great kid," Crowe said. "I told them if there is ever anything I could do to help you get to the bottom of this, I'd do it."

Hale and Crowe's son Taylor, who is autistic, were friends. Crowe has called Hale "a hero" in his son's life.

Donations can be made to The Derek Hale Defense Fund, c/o Dr. David Crowe, 1736 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.

Repeated calls Friday to the Wilmington Police Department's public information officer were not answered. An ongoing investigation into the shooting is being conducted by the Wilmington Police Department and the Delaware attorney general's office.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

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