Kin of teen killed by Plymouth police sues

PLYMOUTH - The mother of a 16-year-old killed three years ago by Plymouth police filed a wrongful death suit in US District Court on Monday against the two officers involved in the shooting, former police chief Robert Pomeroy, and the town.

The suit, filed by Denise McGrath, seeks compensatory and punitive monetary damages "for the use of unreasonable, excessive, and deadly force without legal cause." In Massachusetts, if the complainant prevails, the jury sets the amount to be paid in damages.

Anthony McGrath was shot to death by Officers Richard Tavares and Edwin Almeida at the northern end of Plymouth's waterfront, just two blocks from his home, after leading them on a mile-long car chase that reached high speeds through the downtown in the early-morning hours of Jan. 10, 2006. McGrath was operating the car with only a learner's permit. Drivers with a permit must have an adult driver with them.

The complaint, filed for Denise McGrath by Marshfield attorney Paul Driscoll, contends that the police officers were made aware early on in the pursuit that the car they were chasing was registered to someone living at 210 Water St., McGrath's address, and that they could have cut off the pursuit and sought him at his house. He drove past his house before crashing into a stone wall at the end of Water Street.

After the crash, Tavares and Almeida stopped their cruisers behind McGrath's Toyota Camry, on either side of it. Instead of surrendering, McGrath backed his car up between the cruisers and hit a pole. He then attempted to turn around.

Almeida and Tavares, who had gotten out of their cruisers, fired 11 shots at McGrath. One of the two fatal shots hit the teen in the back, the other in the lung.

During the investigation, Almeida and Tavares said McGrath, who was unarmed, was attempting to hit them with his car.

Tavares, a 17-year veteran of the police force, and Almeida, an 18-year veteran, were placed on administrative leave until an investigation into the shooting by the Plymouth district attorney's office cleared them.

Driscoll's court filing, however, contends the two officers were never in danger, because they were not in the path of McGrath's car. The two shots that killed the teen, Driscoll said, were fired after the car had already passed the officers.

Lawyer Leonard Kesten will represent the police officers and the town. "I'm confident we are going to prevail," Kesten said yesterday. "It's regrettable. It's sad. But the officers did nothing wrong."

Denise McGrath has included Pomeroy, the former chief, and the town in the suit, saying they failed to properly train local police officers concerning the use of deadly force. She could not be reached for comment.

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.