State News

Judge dismisses case against Fayetteville over shooting

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 4, 2009

FAYETTEVILLE
A federal judge has dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed by a North Carolina police officer during a traffic stop.

Fayetteville Police Officer Bart Suggs shot Calvin Kent Wilson of Hope Mills after pulling the man over in November 2005. Court documents said Suggs repeatedly asked Wilson to get out of his sports utility vehicle, but Wilson reached toward a handgun on the floor, and Suggs fired.

One of Wilson's relatives sued the city in 2007 for wrongful death and an unlawful traffic stop. But the Fayetteville Observer reported Wednesday that a federal judge Monday granted the city's request to dismiss the case.

Suggs was cleared by prosecutors in 2006.