Court: Widow can only sue trooper in fatal police shooting of her husband
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – A federal court has ruled that the widow of a man fatally shot in 2018 near a rural high school may sue the state police officer who fired his gun but not others in her lawsuit.
The ruling from the federal court in Indianapolis says Gloria Rightsell can sue Trooper Daniel Organ for negligence and violating the Constitution, but may not sue the Indiana State Police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, two sheriff’s deputies and a Crawfordsville Police Department officer she’d named in her lawsuit.
Glenn A. Rightsell, 56, of Linden, died at Franciscan Health Crawfordsville hospital after he was shot. Rightsell’s family said he was working on his daughter’s car, which had broken down along the side of a rural state road earlier in the day, when he was shot. State police said Organ had tagged the abandoned black Chevrolet Tahoe SUV shortly before 4 p.m. Dec. 28, 2018. The shooting happened around 6:30 p.m. Dec. 28, 2018, on U.S. 231 near Montgomery County Road 550 North. That’s near North Montgomery High School.
The trooper shot Rightsell at least once, state police said.
State police also said the trooper saw a handgun on the Rightsell’s waist as the trooper pulled his vehicle behind the Tahoe and parked with his emergency lights and spotlight on to investigate why the car was there. “As the trooper approached from the driver’s side of the Tahoe, he identified himself as a law enforcement officer and gave verbal commands to Mr. Rightsell. Mr. Rightsell failed to comply with the directions and allegedly grabbed the gun on his waist, at which time the trooper drew his sidearm and fired upon Mr. Rightsell, striking him at least once,” a news release from state police at the time said.
Questions arose after the shooting about whether police did enough to get medical care for Rightsell after he was shot.
The federal court ruling was issued Wednesday.
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