CHARLESTON – The estate of a Roane County man has filed a federal lawsuit after he was killed on his own property by a deputy sheriff.
Melissa Fields, as personal representative of the estate of Michael Nichols, filed the complaint February 4 in U.S. District Court against Deputy Michael King, Roane County Sheriff L. Todd Cole and the Roane County Commission.
“The sheriff has permitted a killer in uniform to remain on the loose and it is past time for accountability,” said attorney Booth Goodwin, one of the lawyers representing the Nichols family. “
Goodwin
According to the complaint, Nichols was sitting on his front porch unarmed on Kettle Road on October 22, 2020, when the “entirely unnecessary shooting incident and horrific death” occurred. It says Nichols was “tragically and fatally shot by defendant King without justification.”
Goodwin said the case is “eerily similar” to another one his firm and the Calwell Luce diTrapano law firm are working on involving King.
Timothy Rhodes also was killed on his own property by King on February 22, 2019. In that one, King responded to a 911 call alleging Rhodes was spinning his truck tires on a private right of way to his own property. That case is scheduled to go to trial later this year.
“We have found that in both cases Deputy King did not wear his body camera, had no search or arrest warrant, and had no probable cause for arrest or detainment,” Goodwin said. “We will prove that Deputy King shot both Timmy and Michael in the face at point-blank range while both men were unarmed and in completely defenseless positions.”
Dante diTrapano, who also is representing both the Rhodes and Nichols families, said Cole and the Roane Count Commission were “acutely aware” of the issues in the Rhodes case at the time of Nichols’ shooting.
“It is shocking that Deputy King has been permitted by the sheriff and the Roane County Commission to continue his nefarious conduct without restriction,” diTrapano said. “Far from ‘protecting and serving’, King has been permitted to run wild and terrorize the people of Roane County with impunity. It must stop.”
According to the Nichols complaint, a neighbor called King personally – she didn’t call 911 – about Nichols. King called the 911 center but provided few details before going to Nichols’ house. One 911 operator said this type of “rogue response” is typical for King.
Few details about the incident are known, but the complaint says Nichols was unarmed. King shot him three times – once in the chest, once downward through his side into his pelvis and once by placing the gun barrel against Nichols’ cheek and shot him through the face down into his chest cavity.
“This means that Michael was either doubled over or sitting on the ground when King fired at least two of his shots,” the complaint states, noting that medical help was delayed because King didn’t tell 911 where he was. “To date, Cole and the RCC have failed to offer any specific justification or explanation to the Nichols’ family regarding Michael’s tragic death. …
“Michael had no weapons at his house; he did not ‘move toward’ one; and Michael presented zero threat to King.”
The complaint also says King wasn’t wearing his required body camera. In fact, it says he usually patrols the county wearing jeans and a t-shirt instead of his uniform.
In the fall, the attorneys sought body camera footage from the incident.
The complaint also lists several previous incidents and other lawsuits related to King’s alleged behavior.
Nichols’ estate also accuses the defendants of negligence, vicarious liability and deprivation of rights. It seeks all recoverable damages including those under the West Virginia Wrongful Death Act as well as compensation for sorrow, mental anguish, solace, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, reasonable loss of income, emergency care and treatment and funeral expenses. It also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The estate is being represented by Goodwin, Benjamin B. Ware and Stephanie H. Daly of Goodwin & Goodwin in Charleston as well as diTrapano and Benjamin D. Adams of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:21-cv-00090
