Jurors rule police officers used justified force in fatal shooting of Sonnier

 A Fayette County coroner's jury ruled that police were justified in using deadly force against a man who allegedly ran down one officer and tried to run down two others. Kermith Sonnier Jr., 37, of Brownsville, died May 5 from one of four shots fired by either Redstone Township police Captain H. Dennis Field or Brownsville officer Autumn Fike, authorities said. The bullet was too deformed for ballistics to conclusively link it to a specific gun, according to testimony at Thursday's coroner's inquest. But Field has told investigators he fired three .45-caliber shots - two as Sonnier's truck passed by, and one into its tire after it stopped so the truck couldn't travel in reverse. Fike fired one from her .40 caliber weapon. The bullet that killed Sonnier was a .45 caliber slug, testimony showed. Neither officer testified at the inquest. Sonnier was chased by Fike when he sped away from an officer who tried to talk to him while he was parked in an area known for drug activity. Sonnier drove into some woods at one point and turned his truck around and ran down Fike, authorities said. Field then fired his gun. The victim's father, Kermith Sonnier Sr., said he still believes his son was murdered and questioned bruises and other injuries found on his son. A coroner determined those injuries weren't from a police beating, but likely occurred as much as 24 hours before Sonnier died.[more ] and [more ]

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