Judge: Yes, no and maybe on Fong Lee case A federal judge dropped some counts of the Fong Lee family lawsuit, allowed others to continue, and a federal magistrate directed attorneys to apply first in state court for grand jury records, before making the request in federal court. The PiPress reports that Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that “while the allegations leveled against the Minneapolis Police Department in the 2006 shooting death of Fong Lee were serious, there was no evidence the death was the result of department policies or customs.” The judge made a partial summary judgment in favor of the City of Minneapolis and also a summary judgment in favor of police officer Mark Anderson on the claim that his actions caused “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The city is not off the hook — it still has to defend Anderson and is liable for his actions, and for any cover-up.
Under a legal precedent established in a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case, the plaintiffs had to show that the city’s official policies and procedures — as well as unofficial customs — were unconstitutional and caused the death of Fong Lee….
Magnuson wrote that the evidence produced by both sides didn’t support the contention that the city was liable under the precedent. He said the plaintiffs had to show “not only that the city acted deliberately and improperly through an official policy or custom, but also that the city’s policy or custom caused Andersen to shoot Lee.”
The case is set for trial on May 18, and a settlement conference is scheduled for May 11.
Mary Turck