Suit likely in police shooting
Family of teen slain in '06 may take action
Nearly three years have passed since 16-year-old Anthony McGrath was shot to death by Plymouth police. Now McGrath's family appears to be preparing to sue the two officers involved, the Police Department, and town leaders.
Their window of opportunity is closing fast, however, with just three months left before the statute of limitations for such action runs out. According to an attorney representing the Town of Plymouth and the police, McGrath's family has given strong indication a suit is on the way.
In January, Marshfield attorney Paul Driscoll sent a "claim" letter on behalf of McGrath's mother, Denise McGrath, to the town's lawyer, Leonard Kesten.
"In the letter, they make the claim that [Anthony] should not have died, and that his death was caused by the negligence and misconduct of the patrolmen," Kesten said. The letter also claims negligence on the part of the Plymouth selectmen and the police chief, Robert Pomeroy, who has since retired.
"I haven't heard anything yet about the suit, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me," Kesten said. "A claim letter has to be sent out six months in advance of a negligence suit, so the timing would be right for it to be filed now. I would be surprised if they don't file a suit."
Driscoll did not return calls from the Globe. At tempts to reach Denise McGrath were unsuccessful.
Anthony McGrath was shot in the early hours of Jan. 10, 2006, following a high-speed car chase along Plymouth's waterfront. Officers Richard Tavares and Edwin Almeida, responding to a report of an alarm ringing at a liquor store on Route 44 at 3 a.m., saw McGrath driving a car in the area and pursued him.
The mile-long pursuit ended with McGrath being fatally shot within a block of his home.
According to reports filed by the officers, Almeida and Tavares, chasing McGrath in separate cruisers, pulled up behind the bright red Camry the teen was driving after he failed to make the sharp turn at the end of Water Street and hit a stone wall. The officers got out of their cruisers, approached McGrath's car on either side with their guns drawn, and told him to turn off the engine and get out.
McGrath, they said, threw his car into reverse, rammed one of the cruisers, then a utility pole behind the vehicle. The teen was then facing the two officers, who said McGrath paused for a few seconds and then sped directly at them. Tavares fired four shots. Two struck the windshield and two shattered the passenger-side window, according to reports filed on the incident. One of the bullets hit McGrath in the arm and another penetrated his back and pierced his lung and heart.
Almeida fired seven shots, but none hit McGrath.
McGrath, who was not armed, was taken to Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, where he was pronounced dead.
McGrath's relatives expressed outrage shortly after the shooting, saying the teen was simply scared and most likely trying to turn the car around and go home.
Tavares, who was a 17-year veteran of the Police Department, and Almeida, an 18-year veteran, were put on paid administrative leave while the shooting was investigated by State Police working for the Plymouth County district attorney's office.
District Attorney Timothy Cruz ruled in March 2006 that the deadly force used by Tavares and Almeida was called for. While police policy dictates that officers not fire at moving cars, in this case the officers' lives were threatened, Cruz said.
Denise McGrath hired Driscoll to investigate her son's death shortly after the incident. She also obtained a Superior Court injunction, barring the local Police Department and Plymouth County district attorney's office from altering or destroying any official records or evidence related to the case, such as police reports, interviews, and ballistics analyses. She said at the time that her lawyer was conducting his own investigation, and that it could take several months.
That injunction has remained in place since the summer of 2006.
Kesten said the family may decide to file for negligence in Plymouth Superior Court and civil rights violations in federal court. The three-year window of opportunity for taking court action would be the same in both courts.
If a negligence suit is filed, the cap on damages would be $100,000, Kesten said. There is no such cap on damages awarded for civil rights violations, such as the use of excessive force, he added. No dollar amounts were included in the initial claim letter, Kesten said.
Shortly after the teen died, a memorial for McGrath was set up on the stone wall he hit at the northern corner of the waterfront. That memorial, which includes a photo of McGrath, has been maintained by friends since his death.
Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com. 