New footage of shooting released as BLM faces lawsuit

Newly released Nevada state trooper dash cam and motorist videos of the moments before the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man by U.S. Bureau of Land Management officers will be helpful in a federal wrongful death lawsuit related to the slaying, an attorney representing the dead man's family said Tuesday. Testimony also revealed during a public airing of evidence Monday that D'Andre Berghardt Jr. twice shrugged off stun gun darts and was hit in the head with a baton before he was shot and killed when he got into the trooper's cruiser on a state highway near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. "We're going to obtain accountability for the Berghardt family. I'm confident of that," said attorney Jacob Hafter, who represents Berghardt's mother, Tracy Meadows. Hafter alleges the federal officers were undertrained, overzealous and enraged that Berghardt didn't follow their instructions. The federal lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for Meadows and a declaration that the Bureau of Land Management rangers used excessive force and violated Berghardt's civil rights. Thirteen shots were fired, and Berghardt was struck seven times, according to testimony. Bullets broke his ribs, pelvis and an arm. The Clark County coroner ruled the shooting a homicide, although the finding does not establish fault...more