U.S. court says lawsuit to proceed in Oklahoma police shooting

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A federal appeals court says a lawsuit over the shooting death of a Seminole County man can proceed against the county’s sheriff and a former compliance officer for its drug court program.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver handed down the ruling Monday in a lawsuit filed by the survivors of Aaron Palmer, who was shot to death inside his Seminole home on Aug. 25, 2012.

Palmer’s family filed the lawsuit against former compliance officer Kenneth Cherry and Sheriff Shannon Smith, whose office commissioned Cherry as a law enforcement officer. It alleges Palmer was shot to death as Cherry attempted to serve a felony warrant for Randall Palmer, Aaron Palmer’s father.

The appeals court says neither Cherry nor Smith are immune from liability in the case.