Widow Of Former Charleston Police Officer Files Lawsuit

{West Virginia}...Samantha Jones, the widow of former Charleston Police Officer Jerry Jones, is suing the city of Charleston and  Officer Christopher Burford, the officer who shot and killed her husband on September 13, 2009. Jones and several other Charleston police officers were pursuing Brian Good and had his truck cornered on Quick Road outside of Charleston. The lawsuit says the officer shot at the truck but instead hit Officer Jones who was near the passenger side of the vehicle. Jones and Good were both killed. The lawsuit claims Burford did not check to see where his fellow officers, including Jerry Jones, were located before firing at Good’s vehicle, and that Good never displayed a firearm. A second count in the lawsuit claims the city of Charleston had “deliberate indifference toward the staffing and training of its patrol officers,” and that Burford’s actions were a result of the city’s failure to “exercise reasonable care in training its police officers.” The city was first notified of the possible lawsuit last week and was given 48 hours to hand over $1 million dollars or the lawsuit would be filed. Charleston Mayor Danny Jones says the city will vigorously defend its position that reasonable force was used in the shooting and the shooting of Officer Jones was a tragic accident.  Mayor Jones says it could have been a ricochet that hit Officer Jerry Jones.