Lawyers for a Black St. Louis teenager who was shot and killed 10 years ago today by white police officers said the city needs to pay the family the nearly $19 million awarded by a jury in a wrongful death lawsuit that went to trial earlier this year.
The case involves the 2015 killing of Mansur Ball-Bey. He was shot by two St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers, Kyle Chandler and Ronald Vaughan, who were conducting a search warrant on the 1200 block of Walton Avenue.
Ball-Bey’s father, Dennis Ball-Bey, sued St. Louis, Chandler and Vaughan in 2018 in federal court. At trial five years later, a jury ruled against the city, finding it violated Ball-Bey’s civil rights in the killing. The city has since filed several motions, arguing that it should have been able to present certain arguments during the trial, including photos showing Ball-Bey smoking weed. That court has yet to rule on the city’s motions seeking a new trial.
City attorneys are trying to damage Ball-Bey’s reputation, said Javad Khazaeli, a lawyer from the firm Khazaeli Wyrsch who is representing the family.
“They’re trying to slime Mansur,” Khazaeli said. “It’s gross, it’s disgusting, and they’re not going to get away with this.”
The city argued that a new trial is warranted in part because the judge prevented its attorneys defending former St. Louis officer Kyle Chandler from introducing evidence that Ball-Bey was a member of a gang and used drugs. City attorneys said Ball-Bey’s lawyers presented evidence not related to the case, including material that “permitted a rosy picture of the decedent Mansur without challenge.” That included “pictures of Mansur as a child, at his high school graduation, and with his family” and testimony that he helped his sister with cerebral palsy.
Jermaine Wooten, who also represents the family, called the city’s claims ludicrous, saying there were aspects of Ball-Bey’s personal life that the judge wouldn’t let them use either, like his plans to become an engineer and his college aspirations.
“Likewise, she didn't allow the city to get the information they were trying to get in,” Wooten said. “So the judge gave fair rulings on both ends.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Cara Spencer said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
The case has had twists and turns over the past 10 years.
Police had argued they shot Ball-Bey because he had pointed a gun at them; Ball-Bey’s lawyers argued he had tossed the gun before officers shot and killed him. Lawyers representing the family say Ball-Bey family was unarmed at the time of the shooting. Ball-Bey’s gun was found 162 feet from his body. A bullet fired by Chandler had pierced his back, severing his spine.
Less than a year after the shooting, then-Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce declined to charge the two officers in Ball-Bey’s death, releasing a report detailing the investigation into the shooting and announcing there was not enough evidence.
Ball-Bey’s lawyers questioned the 2016 report’s conclusions, including that of the coroner who filed two reports, an initial one that said Ball-Bey’s spine was severed and a subsequent one claiming it could have been nicked or severed later during the arrest. Ball-Bey’s lawyers brought in a spinal specialist who argued only intense force could cause a severed spinal cord. At trial, the city’s attorneys maintained that Ball-Bey’s spine was severed at some point after being shot during the pursuit and arrest.
Ball-Bey’s lawyers cited their own expert to push back on the officers’ version of events.
“He said there are only certain things that fully sever our spine, and the things that he mentioned were bullets, knives and buildings,” Khazaeli said. “You don't do that by making it and then having five guys fall on top of each other. If that were true, you would see fully severed spines in every NFL football game.”
Dennis Ball-Bey said he would support criminal charges being filed against the two officers.
“That's still part of seeking justice,” Dennis Ball-Bey said.
To hear the full conversation with Dennis Ball-Bey and attorneys Javad Khazaeli and Jermaine Wooten, listen to “St. Louis on the Air” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube, or click the play button below.
This story has been updated with details on the family's lawsuit against St. Louis.
