Police Justified in Fatal Shooting of Va. Lawyer Who Fired From His Home During Standoff
Police in Chesterfield County, Va., were justified in fatally shooting an apparently suicidal lawyer after he twice fired at them from the garage of his home in January during an 8-hour standoff, a special prosecutor has ruled.
His wife, who is also an attorney, said Richard C. Ferris II had had at least six beers and told her he was tired of living. He was also found to have an excessive level of the drug Alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety, in his system, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
On the day of his death, Ferris was working on an unpaid-overtime claim he was to have filed on behalf of some 70 law enforcement officers. Since his death, Michelle Ferris has taken on the matter and filed the suit in March.
She is also reportedly contemplating a possible wrongful death suit concerning her husband.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Highly Regarded Va. Lawyer Killed in Police Standoff”
