NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A federal judge is allowing a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man police shot and killed on the side of Interstate 65 two years ago to move forward.
The suit was filed by the widow of Landon Eastep, the man who police killed after he pulled a metal object from his pocket, which was not a gun.
The lawsuit says Eastep was emotionally disturbed and agitated that day, made worse after Eastep saw so many officers pointing their guns at him.
A federal judge has now ruled that an excessive force lawsuit against the officers will continue.
At least for the moment, the judge says with the body cam video he's seen, he can't tell which officers fired what shots and when.
That's important because that would help the judge decide whether to keep those officers from being punished because they were doing their jobs; something called qualified immunity.
The judge did say he could tell at least one officer fired after Eastep had already fallen to the ground, and after an officer shouted "cease fire."
There are still so many families in East Tennessee hurting following the floods from Hurricane Helene in September. That made this year's running of the Santa Train extra special for many families in the northeast part of the state. This special Santa Express has been making an annual run in part of Appalachia for over 80 years.
-Lelan Statom
