A federal jury decided police did not use excessive force in the death of Brian Babb, a Eugene veteran with PTSD. The civil case against the City of Eugene and EPD police officer Will Stutesman ended on Tuesday. The seven day trial wrapped up quickly with the eight person jury reaching a unanimous verdict in less than two hours.
Attorneys for the Babb estate argued his rights were violated when he was killed in his doorway while in a mental health crisis. Babb’s two children were named as plaintiffs in the case. They were seeking $9.3 million in damages for the loss of their father.
On May 30, 2015, Babb's therapist Becky Higgins called 911 and told emergency services Babb sounded like he was intoxicated and on drugs. She also said he had fired a 9 millimeter gun in his home.
When officers arrived, they surrounded Babb’s West Eugene home and brought an armored vehicle, known as a BearCat, on scene. Officer Will Stutesman, standing in the turret of the BearCat, shot and killed Babb in his doorway, claiming Babb had aimed a rifle at him.
During closing statements, Carlton Odim, an attorney with Action Injury Law Group, said the use of force in the death of Babb was unnecessary. They also allege a rifle was planted on Babb after his death.
“No one denies that Brian had issues, that’s not a strike against him, he was in his own home,” Odim said to jurors in his closing statements Tuesday. The plaintiffs in the case argued that Babb was coming down from his mental health crisis when he was shot.
In closing, defense attorney Robert Franz acted out a hypothetical situation where officers attempted to plant a weapon on Babb to convince jurors it would be impossible.
“We all know the dirty cop’s gonna plant it,” Franz said. Before jurors left for deliberation, Franz said if jurors voted in favor of the plaintiffs, Stutesman would be a “dirty cop.”
Babb’s sister, Stephanie Babb told KLCC after the trial ended that she’s disappointed, but hopes the case helped raise awareness around policing.
“Even if we had won, they had already set up their defense for an appeal based on qualified immunity, which is an arbitrary and vague law to begin with and give our police endless power to make some pretty major decisions,” Stephanie Babb said.
In a statement to KLCC, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said the department is pleased with the outcome. He also acknowledged the grief of the Babb family and the difficulty of cases like these for all involved.
Copyright 2020 KLCC
