Mar 3, 2008 8:52 pm US/Eastern
Ellerbe's Grandmother Delivers Emotional Testimony
Defense Reveals Ellerbe's School Troubles
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
The jury in the civil lawsuit case against two state troopers in connection to the death of a 12-year-old boy heard the emotional testimony of the boy's grandmother.
On December 24, 2002, two state police troopers following up on a report of a stolen car found Michael Ellerbe running away from the car and them. When it was over, Ellerbe was shot in the back.
One trooper thought his partner had been shot by Ellerbe, but the boy wasn't armed.
State and federal investigators determined the troopers were not criminally responsible for Ellerbe's death.
Mary Gibson, Ellerbe's grandmother, told the court she came to Uniontown from New Jersey for the holidays specifically at Michael's request.
"I promised him over the phone that morning I was coming for Christmas. He said, 'Grandma I bought something special for you.'
"The next morning I came in the house. He [referring to her son] told me Michael was gone. I didn't remember anything else. It was like a nightmare," she said.
Gibson recalled vividly Ellerbe's funeral and burial. She said Ellerbe was a helpful child.
But a defense attorney got Gibson to admit Ellerbe wasn't doing his homework, was getting into trouble and was moved to another school in Perryopolis.
Ellerbe at one point lived with his grandmother, at another point lived with his birth mother and ended up living with his father.
Testimony continues tomorrow.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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