Black Couple Shot: Lawsuits Filed, Officers Identified

CHICAGO — Attorneys for the woman who survived being shot by a Waukegan police officer last week — and the mother of the man who did not — filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the city and two officers involved.

Tafara Williams, 20, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the Oct. 20 shooting and remained hospitalized Friday. Marcellis Stinnette, her 19-year-old boyfriend and passenger in the car she was driving at the time of the shooting, was also shot repeatedly and died from his wounds.

A five-count complaint filed late Wednesday in federal court in Chicago by Williams' attorneys, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, alleges that both officers carried out a false arrest, that the officer who fired his gun both used excessive force and committed a battery, and that the city of Waukegan is responsible for a pattern of unconstitutional conduct.

"How many times must we see the use of excessive force by police when it comes to Black citizens," Crump asked in a statement. "It's as if every community says the problem doesn't happen in their town. We have to wake up America, and finally make every police department accountable for the actions of their officers."

Dante Salinas, identified in the lawsuit as the officer who fatally shot Stinnette and wounded Williams, was terminated from the Waukegan Police Department for "multiple policy and procedure violations," according to the department. As of Friday, a week after his termination, no criminal charges have been filed stemming from the incident.

According to Williams and clips from police body camera footage, the fatal encounter began as she sat with Stinnette in her car outside her house.

Officer James Keating spotted the car, made a U-turn and approached her. According to the lawsuit, he "did not have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain Ms. Williams." Audio from Keating's body-worn camera shows he recognized Stinnette as having an active arrest warrant and told him he was under arrest.

The complaint points out Keating knew both Williams and Stinnette by name. It notes the officer had his hand on his gun while he spoke to Williams. Video from his bodycam shows he has one hand on the side of the windshield of Williams' gray sedan.

"Fearing for her life and the life of Mr. Stinnette, Ms. Williams slowly drove the vehicle away from Officer Keating, as she did not believe she was being detained," the suit alleges. "Ms. Williams was afraid to get out of her car."

The lawsuit describes the brief chase that ended with Williams crashing into a pole and shifting the car into reverse as Salinas leapt from his squad car fired seven shots into her car.

"Williams drove, without causing a threat to any individuals or police officers, to the corner of Helmholtz Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Waukegan," the suit said. "During a turn, Ms. Williams' car made contact with an electrical pole."

According to the lawsuit, a witness at the scene heard Williams scream, "Why you got a gun?" in fear and continue to scream as Salinas fired into the front and driver's side of the car.

The witness said Williams was not driving at the officer, the suit alleges. Salinas only activated his body camera after the shooting — one of the violations that led to his firing.

Romanucci said the lawsuit would bring justice for Tafara Williams. He has said he hopes Waukegan can become a leader in transparency in the wake of the shooting.

"The fact that the officer who fired those shots did not turn on his body camera until after these young people were wounded and bleeding tells us all we need to know," the plaintiff's attorney said in a statement. "He began to create his false narrative as soon as his camera was recording, but I promise you this law suit will uncover the truth."

Related:
Body Cam Turned Off During Fatal Waukegan Police Shooting
Woman Shot By Officer Says Waukegan Police Let Her Boyfriend Die
FBI Investigating Fatal Waukegan Police Shooting, Officer Fired
Black Couple Did Not Provoke Police Shooting: Relative
Coroner Identifies Teen Fatally Shot By Waukegan Police

Waukegan should be held responsible, according to the suit, because its police department kept on staff people like Salinas and Keating, who the city "knew or reasonably should have known had dangerous propensities for abusing authority, making false arrests, and/or for using excessive force on suspects and other citizens and/or were unqualified to hold such posts."

The suit also suggests the department encourages a code of silence, sometimes referred to as the "blue wall,' whereby police officers are discouraged from disclosing misconduct by colleagues.

Court records show Salinas and the city were sued earlier this year by a man who alleges the officer falsely arrested him, assaulted him and used excessive force in August 2019. Angel Salgado said Salinas struck him in the face with the butt of his pistol, causing several bone fractures and severe cuts. That suit remains pending.

Stinnette and Williams are Black. Police said Salinas is Hispanic and Keating is white. A man who answered Salinas' cell phone declined to comment to the Associated Press.

On Thursday, Stinette's mother, Zharvellis Holmes, filed a wrongful death suit against Waukegan, Salinas, Keating and Police Chief Wayne Walles on her late son's behalf. It contains similar allegations to Williams' suit, with some additions.

The seven-count suit alleges the city and police chief knew — since last year's pistol-whipping incident — that Salinas "had a propensity to escalate confrontations into hazardous situations, and in fact did so when he used excessive force and violated the constitutional rights of another Waukegan resident," referencing the encounter that led to Salgado's suit. "Despite this knowledge, they took no action against Officer Salinas and allowed him to remain with the police department."

The police chief, according to the suit, had created an unwritten practice of widespread excessive force and unconstitutional police tactics.

"The policy decision of defendant, City of Waukegan's policymakers, Chief of Police Wayne Walles," it alleges, "caused the violation of Marcellis Stinnette's constitutional rights, and ultimately led to his death."