The father of a 25-year-old woman who was killed by a law-enforcement officer in Pettis County last year has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.
According to WGB&C Attorneys at Law LLC, White, Graham, Buckley & Carr partners, William Carr, Gene Graham and Bryan White have filed a lawsuit against former Pettis County Sheriff’s Deputy Jordan Schutte on behalf of client John Fizer as part of a high-profile wrongful-death case of Hannah Fizer.
On June 13, 2020, Schutte shot an unarmed Hannah Fizer five times only minutes into a traffic stop in Sedalia.
The lawsuit outlines the encounter and alleges how Schutte’s actions violated Hannah Fizer’s rights and violated Missouri law, including by Schutte using willful excessive force, violating recognized police training procedures and protocols, and causing the death of Hannah Fizer. John Fizer is the appointed personal representative of her estate.
The lawsuit filed in Pettis County Court includes two counts- assault and battery/wrongful death and negligence/wrongful death- against Schutte.
The release says the case received heavy media attention throughout 2020 due to the audio and video that was captured at the scene, which contradicted some of Schutte’s original statements.
As for the criminal case, on September 14, Special Prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff, who was assigned to the case on August 4, said in a release “After a through review of the available information, I believe it would be difficult to find from this evidence that the officer did not have a reasonable apprehension of immediate physical injury or death from the acts of the suspect. As a result, it is my conclusion that there is sufficient evidence which a jury would be likely to find that the officer was justified in his use of deadly force. I believe, based on the current state of the law, and the provisions of the National Prosecution Standards, which hold that a prosecutor must have a reasonable basis to believe that a conviction (beyond a reasonable doubt) is reasonably likely, that he or she is ethically obligated not to file charges, that there would not be a reasonable likelihood of being able to prove the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, that no charges are warranted.”
John Fizer is seeking unspecified damages in the civil case.