Officers Cleared in Shooting; Cochran Files a Legal Claim

Fresh from his $4.5-million victory against the city of Los Angeles and the FBI in the Elmer Gerard “Geronimo” Pratt case, attorney Johnnie Cochran on Wednesday filed a $20-million claim against the city of Providence and two police officers in a police shooting here.

With his New York City law partners Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, Cochran brought the wrongful-death action on behalf of Leisa Young, the mother of a 29-year-old off-duty police officer killed Jan. 28 outside an all-night diner; such a step frequently precedes the filing of a formal lawsuit. While attempting to break up a fight, Cornel Young Jr. was shot to death by two fellow police officers, “circumstances that would make anybody want to ask questions,” Cochran said.

When a grand jury last week cleared the two white patrolmen of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Young, who was black, Cochran and his partners sprang into action. While city officials urged the black community to remain calm and accept the grand jury report, many were dissatisfied with the outcome.

Surrounded by lilies left over from the Easter service, Cochran told a crowd at Leisa Young’s church, “We represent the outside probe that you have been calling for.” Cochran also said the civil rights department of the U.S. Justice Dept. has launched a “pattern and practice” investigation of the police here.

Cochran described Young’s death as part of a national pattern where off-duty police officers are shot by fellow officers. With irony reminiscent of his demeanor in the O.J. Simpson trial, he said, “Maybe it’s a coincidence, but in every single instance that we’ve looked at, the cop who is shot--or who dies--is black.”

Leisa Young said she contacted Cochran not long after her son’s death. While the grand jury inquest was in progress, Cochran said he and his partners conducted their own investigation, and found witnesses who heard Young identify himself as a police officer. Cochran faulted city authorities for failing even to call his client when the grand jury decision was reached.

Young, a psychology teacher at a community college here, said she brought her claim “not to place blame, but to find out what happened to my son.”

Before departing for his birthday celebration Wednesday, Providence Mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci repeated his support for the grand jury report, and said the city would fight Young’s claim.

Neufeld, Scheck and Cochran worked successfully together in Los Angeles in the Simpson murder trial. They formed a firm devoted to civil rights work 2 1/2 years ago. Among their high-profile cases, they are representing New York police torture victim Abner Louima in his $155-million lawsuit against New York City. They also are representing “the New Jersey four,” four black men whose van was shot by state troopers in 1998 on the New Jersey turnpike.

The attorneys also are representing the family of Los Angeles police officer Kevin L. Gaines, who was shot to death while off-duty by an undercover detective during a traffic dispute in 1997. In the Pratt case, the former Black Panther Party leader, who spent 25 years in prison until his murder conviction was overturned, reached a settlement Tuesday in a false-imprisonment lawsuit.

Neufeld and Scheck also work together in the Innocence Project, using DNA testing to retry questionable criminal cases. After the Simpson trial, Cochran relocated to New York where he established the Cochran law firm and briefly hosted a television show.

Cochran said in an interview that the civil rights work was not out of character for a lawyer who became internationally famous by representing a football player accused of murdering his wife. “This is what really brings about change.”

He nodded in agreement as Leisa Young said the grand jury investigation of her son’s death reflects a quiet, perilous form of racism. “People think of racism in its most extreme form, white robes, burning crosses,” she said. “There is a much more dangerous kind of racism, the kind that stereotypes people--the kind that says in certain communities at certain times of night, a person would be more foe than friend.”

Young and her lawyers said they would hold off filing a lawsuit while the Justice Department investigation proceeds. They said also that they would be satisfied if their case produces “systemic” change to break down racial barriers in Providence.

Cochran added, “Providence or Podunk, it doesn’t matter. This stuff happens everywhere.”