Judge dismisses Ky. family's lawsuit over shooting at Fort Bliss

Judge dismisses Ky. family's lawsuit over shooting
BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press
September 2, 2011

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Friday that had been brought by the family of a teenager killed during a shooting at a military post in Texas, saying federal laws prevent the teen's mother from pursuing damages from the government.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III in Louisville ruled that the law is designed to prevent judicial "second guessing of policy considerations" by the military.

Renee Richardson, the mother of 18-year-old Ezra Gerald Smith, sued the U.S. Army in October seeking $8.75 million. She accused the Army of negligence in diagnosing and treating the alleged shooter, Spc. Gerald Polanco.

"However, plaintiffs do not point to any specific applicable regulations which removed discretion from Spc. Polanco's chain of command," Simpson wrote.

Polanco was charged with murder but ruled incompetent to stand trial by a military judge a few months later.

Smith was at Fort Bliss, along the Texas-New Mexico line, where his stepfather was based. He was shot in the back of the head April 24, 2009.

Because the lawsuit has been dismissed and Polanco has been found incompetent and may never stand trial, there's little chance the family will ever get justice, said Richardson's attorney, Sheila Hiestand.

"It's certainly a tragedy," Hiestand said. "It should never have been allowed to occur."
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