Jury considers fatal police shooting of mentally ill man

SUNRISE — A grand jury is expected to decide within the next several days whether a Sunrise police officer was justified in fatally shooting a mentally ill man more than two years ago, court records show.

A federal lawsuit filed by the family of Marlon Woodstock says he never posed a threat but was hit several times with a stun gun, attacked by a police dog and then shot twice while he was on the ground.

According to the lawsuit, Woodstock was verbally unresponsive when he was shot by K-9 Officer Gregory Loor, then a 14-year veteran with the department. The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

“We are still trying to gather as much info as we can, regardless of how the grand jury rules,” said Christopher Brown, an attorney for the family.

Woodstock’s life ended in a Walgreens parking lot on Sept. 30, 2014, after he refused to drop a knife and continued to resist officers, police reports say.

Sunrise officers had responded to a 911 call from Woodstock’s older brother that morning. He warned police that his brother was mentally ill, off his medication and needed to be taken to a hospital for evaluation under the state’s Baker Act, according to police reports.

Woodstock was schizophrenic and had been Baker Acted several times since 1999, his brother told police. Woodstock had just flattened the tires on his cousin’s truck with a knife and was heading on foot to a gas station at the corner of University Drive and Sunset Strip. His brother told police he was following behind him in a black Volvo until police could get there.

When police caught up with Woodstock at the gas station, he ignored orders to stop and ran across the street to a Walgreens parking lot, police reports say. Woodstock held onto his knife even after being hit several times with stun guns and attacked by Loor’s police dog, according to police reports.

At one point, Woodstock held his knife to the dog’s neck and hooked his right arm around Loor’s leg. Loor pulled out his gun, ordered Woodstock to drop the knife and fired when Woodstock failed to comply. With Woodstock still clutching the knife, Loor fired a second

Sunrise officials have declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.