MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Defense attorneys in a wrongful death lawsuit are arguing that Monongalia County deputies were justified in fatally shooting a woman during a car chase last year.
The Dominion Post reports that this week attorneys for the defendants, including the sheriff's office and two unnamed deputies, asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the family of Christie Cathers.
Cathers was shot last June during a pursuit. Authorities say they were responding to a report of someone brandishing a knife when Cathers attempted to flee. Deputies say she drove her vehicle toward a deputy and struck the sheriff's cruiser. Deputies fired into the moving vehicle, killing her.
Cathers' family has accused authorities of negligence and of using excessive force.