Family of Woman Killed Outside Capitol Plan to Sue U.S., Agencies for $75 Million

 A $75 million wrongful death lawsuit will be filed against the U.S Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police by the family of Miriam Carey, who was fatally shot in her car last October after ramming a White House checkpoint barrier and leading police on a high-speed car chase to Capitol Hill.

Carey, 34, a dental hygienist from Stamford, Connecticut, had been taking medication for diagnosed psychosis and postpartum depression but was reducing dosages under medical supervision, a family member said. Her boyfriend reportedly told police Carey believed she was being electronically monitored by President Obama.

On October 3 last year, Carey drove her black Infiniti from Connecticut to Washington, DC, and attempted to drive through a White House checkpoint, striking a security barrier. Avoiding attempts to arrest her, Carey collided with a Secret Service officer, who fell onto her hood, then tumbled to the ground.

Carey then drove east on Pennsylvania Avenue at a high rate of speed, with police in pursuit. Reaching the Capitol grounds, she was momentarily boxed in by officers with guns drawn, but escaped by ramming a Secret Service cruiser. A few blocks away, her car was forced off the road, crashing by a Senate office building.

Capitol Hill police fired seven shots into the car, killing Carey; she was found to be unarmed. Her 18-month-old daughter was discovered uninjured in the car's back seat. In addition to the Secret Service officer injured at the White House checkpoint, a Capitol Police officer was evacuated by helicopter after his car collided with a barricade during the high-speed Capitol Hill chase. https://askcompetentlawyer.com/complex-litigation/ Neither law enforcement officer was thought to be seriously injured.

During the Capitol Hill chase, alarm buzzers sounded and Congress briefly went into lockdown, as legislators, staff and tourists hurried to take cover while law enforcement officers carrying semi-automatic weapons took up positions around the Capitol. The incident came less than three weeks after a gunman's attack at the nearby Washington Navy Yard, in which 12 people and the gunman were slain.

Carey's family, residents of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant section, in late January filed an administrative notice they intend to sue the federal government, the United States Capitol Police, and the Secret Service Uniform Division. A press release issued by an attorney for the family claims the incident was mishandled, using deadly force without justification and in violation of Secret Service regulations.

The family wants law enforcement officials who failed to call off the high-speed pursuit of Miriam Carey to be identified and dismissed, and also demanded release of the Department of Justice's investigation of the incident, and called on Congress to look into the case.

If you believe you or a member of your family has been injured by someone's misconduct, you may want to consult with a New York personal injury attorney, and learn more about your options.