Reports of wrongful death lawsuit in teen shooting incorrect
The mother of a 16-year-old Crawford boy, shot and killed by Crawford Police Chief Richard “Rick” Thompson last year, plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit but it hasn't been filed yet.
Attorneys for Pat Britton, mother of teenager Jesse Britton, will file the lawsuit against Thompson, the City of Crawford and Dan Kling, a Nebraska Game and Parks employee in the near future.
The lawsuit will be filed in U.S. District Court and the trial will take place at the federal building in North Platte.
Recent news reports, including from the Omaha World Herald and the Associated Press, that the lawsuit was filed in Scotts Bluff County District Court are incorrect. Robert Chaloupka, an attorney from Scottsbluff, intends to file the lawsuit but it will be in federal court.
The North Platte Bulletin obtained a copy of the lawsuit Wednesday.
Crawford is a community of 1,100 people near Fort Robinson State Park that had been rocked by a number of burglaries.
Britton was a suspect in the burglaries around Crawford and Thompson had been looking for him.
On Oct. 3, 2007, Thompson got a tip that Britton was hiding in an abandoned bar in downtown Crawford. Thompson placed two officers outside the bar and he and Kling went inside.
The men located Britton in an upstairs room when he popped up from behind a desk, according to sources. Britton was pointing a .22-caliber Ruger pistol at Thompson. The unloaded gun later turned out to be one that had been stolen in the recent burglaries. Thompson ordered the boy to drop the gun. When he didn’t, Thompson fired three times and hit the teen with his third shot. Kling fired twice and both shots hit Britton.
The boy died at the scene.