Security Guard Manslaughter Case Dismissed

In a case that heightened racial tensions, a judge threw out manslaughter charges Wednesday against a store security guard accused of fatally choking a black man after an alleged shoplifting.

The judge said the victim may have died of a heart problem, rather than asphyxiation.

Dennis Richardson, 29, a guard for Lord & Taylor, was charged with choking Frederick Finley, 32, on June 22 after Richardson and other guards confronted him in the parking lot.

The guards suspected Finley’s girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter of shoplifting. According to police, the guards said Finley threw a punch and Richardson placed a choke hold on him.

Judge Virginia Sobotka found that the medical evidence was not sufficient to conclude Finley died of asphyxiation. She said Finley had an enlarged heart and the confrontation may have triggered heart failure.

Richardson could have gotten up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Richardson is black, as was Finley.

Activists who charged that the confrontation had racial overtones have staged protests against Lord & Taylor, accusing it of having black security guards scrutinize minority shoppers to avoid the appearance of discrimination or racial profiling.

A day before Richardson was charged, 5,000 to 10,000 demonstrators led by the Rev. Al Sharpton rallied outside Lord & Taylor to protest Finley’s death.

The company has denied engaging in any form of racial profiling.

Richardson showed little emotion as the judge issued her ruling.