Officer sues mother of man killed by police

A Seattle police officer has filed a lawsuit against the mother of a man his partner killed two years ago in a Central District police shooting.

Officer Greg Neubert, who's been with the department 11 years, says he was injured and lost the ability to work a second job after he was dragged down the road May 31, 2001, with his arm stuck in the window of a car driven by Aaron Roberts.

Roberts was shot and killed by Neubert's partner, who said he thought Neubert's life was in danger.

According to the lawsuit filed last week in King County Superior Court, Neubert is seeking an unspecified amount from Deloris Roberts, claiming she was negligent when she loaned her Cadillac to her son the night he was killed.

"Being dragged and dropped injured plaintiff Neubert, requiring him to incur medical expenses, time loss from work, and loss of secondary employment and pain and suffering," the lawsuit says.

Neubert is also suing the state, claiming the Department of Corrections had made no effort to bring Roberts back after he walked away from a work-release site and that Roberts should have been in custody on the night of the shooting.

Neubert had previously filed a claim against Deloris Roberts' car-insurance company on the same grounds of negligence, but that claim was denied in May, she said.

Roberts was upset by the suit. She blames Neubert for the death of her son and grandson, who she said shot himself in the wake of his father's death.

"I think he's a disgrace to the police. It's like he wants to get a reward for murder," she said.

According to court documents, Aaron Roberts was driving erratically when Neubert and his partner, Craig Price, pulled him over. An autopsy later showed that Roberts tested positive for drug and alcohol use.

During an inquest hearing into the shooting, Neubert said that Roberts had grabbed his arm, pulled it into the car and then took off, dragging Neubert down the street.

Others said they thought Neubert had reached into the car of his own volition to either turn off the engine or move the gearshift into park.

In either case, Roberts had begun to drive away with Neubert's arm trapped in the car when Neubert's partner shot Roberts.

The inquest jury ultimately determined unanimously that Price had acted within the law when he shot Roberts.

Neubert and his attorney, Sue Sampson, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Neither could a spokesman from the Attorney General's Office, which will defend the state in the lawsuit.

Attorney Doug Wilson, who represented the Roberts family during the inquest, said he's not particularly surprised by the lawsuit.

"I'd like to say it shocks me, but it doesn't because he's already filed one lawsuit over this," Wilson said.

Shortly after the inquest, Neubert filed a civil lawsuit for defamation against a local attorney who said Neubert had lied on the stand in a previous case.

That case was dismissed in June by King County Superior Court Judge Nicole MacInnes, who is also scheduled to hear the lawsuit against Roberts.

"We just hope this gets resolved quickly," Wilson said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com