A trial in the civil lawsuit filed by the family of Brian Babb against the City of Eugene and a Eugene police officer started Tuesday in Federal Court. The Babb family is suing for $7.5 million in damages.
On March 30, 2015, Brian Babb, an Army National Guard veteran was shot and killed during a welfare check by Eugene police officer Will Stutesman. Stutesman was standing in the turret of an armored vehicle known as a BearCat. He alleges he saw Babb pointing a rifle at him.
The initial 911 call came from Babb’s therapist, Becky Higgins, who remained on the phone with both the dispatcher and Babb.
Higgins and Lee Babb, Brian’s father, were the first two witnesses called to testify on Tuesday. Higgins said she had counseled Babb staring in November 2014.
“He said he had a gun, and he said he was having a hard time,” Higgins said about the March 30, 2015 phone call. She added he said he didn’t want to be around anymore and “he wanted to be with his buddies somehow.”
Babb had served in Afghanistan, where he sustained injuries, including PTSD, from a roadside bomb. Higgins said Babb had severe brain trauma and amnesia.
During the phone call, Higgins said she was making progress in talking him down. However, the Eugene Police Department arrived and she heard:
“Come out with your hands up” over a bullhorn. Higgins said she could hear Babb put his phone down and question the noise. She called for him, but didn't recieve a response. She was later asked to hang up the phone by the dispatcher.
Judge Michael McShane closed the trial before Higgins could be cross examined by the defense team.
Earlier in the day, the plaintiff’s Carlton Odim, an attorney with Action Injury Law Group, asked the jury to consider whether Babb was armed with a rifle at the time he was killed. Injury Action Law Group is a Chicago-based firm that specializes in cases involving police shootings.
“He was rebuilding his life, Brian Babb was on the mend. He lost his chance,” Odim said during opening statements. He added EPD “destabilized” a crisis situation by using excessive lethal force.
Representing the defense, attorney Robert Franz said Officer Stutesman had only seven seconds to react to seeing Babb with a gun.
“This is not a case of a trigger happy officer,” Franz told the jury. Stutesman, he added, was justified in his decision to shoot and kill Babb.
The trial will resume Wednesday morning at 9:00 am and it’s expected to carry on into next week.
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