Chamberlain Jr. Files $21 Million Lawsuit Against City of White Plains
Two months after a grand jury decided not to indict any of the officers involved in the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., the former U.S. Marine and Westchester County correctional officer’s son has brought a $21 million federal lawsuit against the city for what the suit says is the wrongful death of Chamberlain Sr.
Chamberlain, a 68-year-old resident of the Winbrook Houses, was fatally shot by police on Nov. 19, 2011 after officers responded to his apartment when his medical alert device was activated. The shooting followed a nearly 90-minute standoff, with police looking to enter Chamberlain’s apartment and Chamberlain, armed with a kitchen knife, refusing to let them in.
“We filed a federal lawsuit as part of our course of efforts to bring accountability to law enforcement,” Mayo Bartlett, an attorney for Chamberlain Jr., said Monday after holding a press conference announcing the lawsuit. “Mr. Chamberlain was in his own home, and the police were not responding to a 9-1-1 call in regards to a criminal matter.”
The City of White Plains is named as a defendant in the suit, as are the White Plains Housing Authority – which manages the Winbrook Houses and gave police a master key to the apartment – and eight of the White Plains Police Department officers who responded to the scene.
Police responded to Chamberlain’s apartment at around 5 a.m. the morning of the shooting and insisted he open the door and show that he was okay. Chamberlain, who was described by police as emotionally disturbed and an autopsy showed had been drinking before the incident, insisted he was fine and refused to open the door. Eventually, police broke the door down and forced their way in, attempting to subdue Chamberlain first with a Taser and then with a bean bag shotgun. When these efforts failed, according to police accounts released in May, Chamberlain went after White Plains Police Sgt. Keith Martin with a knife and was shot twice in the chest by Officer Anthony Carelli.
The lawsuit, filed on the behalf of Chamberlain Sr.’s estate, alleges that officers “acting jointly and severally, committed a series of unlawful acts that resulted in the shooting death of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr.,” and says police acted “in an unreasonable manner in responding to the medical Aid dispatch.”
“At no time was the manner and/or degree of force used by the officers justified by the circumstances,” the suite states. “In fact, the wildly disproportionate use of force employed by the officers was excessive and unwarranted.”
The suit says police should have left Chamberlain’s apartment once he said that he didn’t need medical attention. The lawsuit also claims police escalated the confrontation by taunting Chamberlain, as one officer, believed to be Officer Steven Hart, used a racial slur in what’s been described as an attempt to district Chamberlain away from his front door.
Chamberlain Jr.’s attorneys, led by Randolph McLaughlin of Newman Ferrara LLP, faulted the White Plains Housing Authority for providing police with a master key to the Winbrook apartments.
City officials declined comment, citing the pending litigation.
Carelli and Hart are both named in the litigation. Carelli’s attorney and the White Plains PBA have defended the actions of the officers, saying Carelli saved Martin’s life by using his firearm when he did.
In May, Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that a 23-person grand jury had reviewed the case and decided not charge any of the officers criminally.
“The grand jury heard all the evidence on the use of physical force and deadly physical force by the police in this encounter,” DiFiore said at a May 3 press conference. “The grand jury also heard the evidence of the threatened use of deadly physical force by Mr. Chamberlain during the encounter.”
The case is now under review by the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York. Bartlett said he has met with investigators from Bharara’s office.
Mayor Tom Roach and Public Safety Commissioner David Chong have promised their own investigations into whether departmental procedures were followed and whether police policy needs to be reviewed.
On Monday evening, Chamberlain Jr. addressed the White Plains Common Council before the council’s monthly meeting and questioned why officers haven’t been suspended or disciplined for his father’s death.
“That continues to send a strong message to my family as well as White Plains residents that when employees acting under the color of law in this city taunt an elderly man, use a racial slur against him, break into his home and shoot him to death, they will permit them to continue to carry a gun and a badge with impunity.”
Chamberlain’s death began to receive national attention this year after the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida in February.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
