PHILADELPHIA — The family of man shot and killed by a City of Philadelphia police officer is claiming wrongful death.
The Estate of Justin Paul Smith by Christina A. Smith, individually, and as wife and as co-administratrix and Gianna Smith, individually and as daughter and co-administratrix and Lisa Gavin on behalf of her minor son Justin Smith filed a complaint Sept. 8 in the Court of Common Pleas Philadelphia County against City of Philadelphia and Officer Curt McKee alleging excessive force, wrongful death and other claims.
The defendants recently removed the case to Philadelphia federal court.
According to the plaintiffs' complaint, Justin Smith was shot and killed by McKee on Dec. 5, 2019. They allege that Smith was barricaded inside a house and "may or may not have had a knife." The plaintiffs claim that McKee did not follow police department directives regarding practices for arrests, use of force, tasers, crisis response and critical incident negotiations.
The plaintiffs claim that if McKee had used his taser instead of his gun, that Smith would have survived the encounter with police. They further claim that McKee's actions were intentional misconduct, excessive force and violation of Smith's constitutional rights.
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief of more than $1 million, trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Gregg Zeff of The Zeff Law Firm LLC in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.