
A $21 million civil rights lawsuit is being filed today against the city of White Plains, New York, and its police department over the death of 68-year-old African-American veteran, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. He was shot dead by police officers inside his own home after he accidentally set off his medical alert pendant. Police have since acknowledged using racial slurs against Chamberlain — an act they have described as a "tactic" to distract him as they sought entry into his home. Today’s lawsuit comes less than two months after a Westchester County grand jury decided not to indict Police Officer Anthony Carelli for the shooting. We speak with Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., and two of the family’s attorneys, Mayo Bartlett and Randolph McLaughlin. "This is just one step of many that we’re doing to try to hold the city of White Plains accountable for the death of my father," Chamberlain Jr. says. "It’s unacceptable for the district attorney’s office or for anyone else to suggest that calling someone a racial slur is a tactic," Bartlett says. "If anyone else had used that language, they would be charged with a hate crime — at a bare minimum, for aggravated harassment. ... That further makes you wonder what actually was presented to the grand jury." [includes rush transcript]


