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Court says police department shooting death reasonable

WILLIAMS - A lawsuit filed by the family of Roger Heath Jensen, who died Feb. 5, 2006 after being shot by a Williams Police Department officer, may have run its course.

On Dec. 14, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by a U.S. District Court stating that the shooting of Jensen by former Williams Police Officer Chee Yazzie Burnsides was justified.

According to the court's memorandum, the appellants in the case failed to provide factual evidence to demonstrate that the shooting was unreasonable.

"The undisputed facts reflect that Jensen violently attacked Officer Burnsides," wrote the three judges reviewing the lower court's decision. "Because Officer Burnsides' response to Jensen's attack was objectively reasonable, there was no constitutional violation."

The $7 million lawsuit was originally filed against the city of Williams, the Williams Police Department (WPD) and Burnsides. A case is still pending in Coconino County Superior Court regarding the shooting but a motion to dismiss the case has been filed by attorneys for the city of Williams.

The Jensen family could appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to a press release issued at the time of the shooting by the Coconino County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division, on the day of the shooting, Burnsides, 50, arrested Jensen, 39, for suspicion of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended driver's license. When the police stopped him, Jensen was riding an all-terrain vehicle in downtown Williams. Jensen was transported to the WPD, where he attacked Burnsides inside the station.

Jensen had been handcuffed, but managed to swing his arms to the front, attacking Burnsides from behind. The fight continued into an interior office area and concluded in the sally port.

Jensen gained control of Burnsides' Tazer and was trying to pry it from the officer's hand. Burnsides drew his service weapon and fired three times, fatally wounding Jensen. Jensen was pronounced dead at the scene.

The CCSO Criminal Investigations Division investigated the incident. Burnsides was cleared in the incident and returned to work Feb. 27, 2006. He resigned from the WPD three months later.


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