Lawsuit alleges trooper used excessive force in 2017 shooting of Canton man
Celeste Van Kirk
In this file photo, Shirley Gray, right, talks about her grandson, Anthony E. Gallo, who was fatally shot during an incident with state police in 2017.
Anthony E. Gallo
The father of a Canton Township man is suing state police officials in the fatal shooting of his son by a trooper two years ago.
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday in federal court, claims the actions of Trooper Chad Weaver and other agency officials resulted needlessly in the Oct. 1, 2017, death of 34-year-old Anthony E. Gallo, who had suffered a recent head injury and was 鈥渁cting strangely but not violently鈥� before his mother called 911 鈥渁s a mental health call.鈥�
Instead, attorney Noah Geary said Weaver had shot Gallo about 10 times with an assault rifle within a minute and 22 seconds of when Weaver and his partner, Trooper Matthew Shaffer, arrived at the family home on Mark Avenue.
鈥淚t should have gone differently, and the troopers had many alternatives to resolve the situation short of killing him, and they didn鈥檛 attempt or try any of them,鈥� said Geary, who represents Louis Gallo, Anthony鈥檚 father and executor of his son鈥檚 estate. 鈥淭hey escalated this.鈥�
A police spokesman at the state police headquarters near Harrisburg declined to comment on the 鈥減ending litigation.鈥� So did a representative for Troop B, the Washington County barracks where the defendants are stationed.
The lawsuit names Weaver as a defendant, along with Capt. Joseph Ruggery, three lieutenants 鈥� Dale Brown, Steven Driscoll and John Kean 鈥� and six other 鈥淛ohn Doe鈥� supervisors. The agency itself is not a defendant.
Geary said that Anthony Gallo had been a passenger in a head-on vehicle crash several months earlier. Since then, he鈥檇 started acting oddly. His family was thinking about having him involuntarily committed for mental health treatment when his mother, Betty Gray, called 911 that day.
Gray was among the people outside when police arrived, and allegedly told the troopers she didn鈥檛 feel endangered and that the AR-15s they were carrying weren鈥檛 necessary. In reply, they allegedly told her to 鈥渟hut the (expletive) up.鈥�
She also told them he was alone inside the trailer when they asked if anyone was with him.
Geary said Gallo was holding a 鈥渟mall paring knife,鈥� but it was unclear why he did so and wasn鈥檛 threatening anyone.
The lawsuit accuses Weaver allegedly shot Gallo four or five times in the torso 鈥渨ithout any provocation鈥� moments after both troopers went into the trailer. Weaver allegedly shot Gallo with another fusillade of four or five rounds while the wounded man lay on the ground.
The two troopers gave their version of events in recorded statements that were played during a coroner鈥檚 inquest last year. According to their account, they allegedly told Gallo, who was standing at the front door when they first saw him, to show his hands.
Instead, he slammed the door shut, so they followed him inside and down a narrow hallway to a bedroom doorway. He allegedly told them to 鈥渟hoot me鈥� several times, as he ignored commands to drop the knife.
Weaver said in the recording that he 鈥渇ired four or five rounds and (Gallo) fell back on a bed. He went to get back up and I fired again.鈥� He said he was telling Gallo to drop the knife 鈥渢he entire time.鈥�
Geary said the man wasn鈥檛 a danger to the troopers or anyone else. 鈥淎t no time did Gallo make a movement towards either Trooper or advance towards them,鈥� he wrote.
The filing contains a count of 鈥渄eadly/excessive force鈥� against Weaver. Another count claims the remaining defendants of 鈥渟upervisory liability for deliberate indifference鈥� to Gallo鈥檚 constitutional rights, allegedly failing to provide Weaver proper use-of-force training. They also left Weaver, a combat veteran, in his role despite his experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and allegedly showing 鈥渂ehaviors and tendencies that made it unsuitable for him to be in a position/post wherein he would encounter potentially volatile situations.鈥�
Geary said he named the defendants in their individual capacity because of the immunity that protects them in their official capacity.
Based on the February 2018 inquest, the coroner鈥檚 office ruled that the shooting was justified.
Geary called the proceeding a 鈥渏oke.鈥� He said Weaver and Shaffer weren鈥檛 present. Their recorded statements were given to a fellow member of state police.
鈥�(The interviewer鈥檚) suggesting what the answer is, and he鈥檚 trying to help them out,鈥� Geary recalled. 鈥淚n every possible way, the interviewer is trying to help them out and make excuses for them.鈥�
He added that the use of force expert who testified also belonged to the agency.
Geary wasn鈥檛 allowed to call or question witnesses, but was allowed to submit his own questions for a county prosecutor to ask during the inquiry.
District Attorney Gene Vittone declined to comment.
Steven Toprani, the coroner鈥檚 solicitor who presided at the inquest, said it followed state law.
鈥淲e conducted an independent inquiry,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 really up to the DA鈥檚 office what evidence is presented in what fashion.鈥�