appeals court upholds verdict in fong lee shooting

Almost missed this news from last week... In Minneapolis, a federal appeals court ruled that a police officer did not use excessive force when he shot teenager Fong Lee eight times after a foot chase in 2006, upholding a jury's previous verdict: Appeals court affirms verdict in Fong Lee shooting.

The decision upholds a jury's verdict that the 2006 shooting near a Minneapolis elementary school was justified because officer Jason Andersen was in fear of his life. A gun was found near Lee's body.

Lee's family sued the city and Andersen, saying security video showed that Lee was unarmed. The family argued that police planted the gun afterward.

But Andersen and a Minnesota state trooper, who chased Lee on foot, both testified they saw Lee carrying a gun. Andersen testified that Lee refused orders to drop the weapon and twice turned toward the officer while holding the gun.

A three-judge panel of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the evidence supported the jury's verdict and that the family got a fair trial of its lawsuit.

This case has been all wrong since the very beginning. It all seems to hinge on that gun, which officers claim Lee was holding, while Lee's family has alleged that the police planted the gun afterward. I haven't been following the case very closely, but it appears this theory didn't get very far with the jury.

The family filed suit in February 2007. After a six-day trial, a jury ruled in Officer Andersen's favor in May 2009. It looks like their fight for a new trial ends here. More on the case: YOUA VANG LEE v. ANDERSEN.