MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit brought against West Memphis, Ark., by relatives of two people who were fatally shot by the city's police officers during a two-state chase can continue.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday that five West Memphis officers involved in the July 2004 shootings of Donald Rickard and Kelly Allen are not immune from lawsuits.
Rickard fled a traffic stop in West Memphis and was chased across a Mississippi River bridge to Memphis. West Memphis officers stopped the car again and fatally shot both Rickard and Allen, his passenger.
Police said they opened fire on the car after Rickard tried to run over them as he fled after being cornered. Relatives of Rickard and Allen alleged excessive force.
