Mother, attorney spar during testimony in trial over son’s death

Sparks flew in federal court Tuesday between the mother of a suicidal 17-yearold boy who was shot to death by Benton police just over seven years ago and an attorney defending the city and the officer who shot him.

Piper Partridge was in federal court in Little Rock testifying about the day her son, Keagan Schweikle, who had just been suspended from school and was having a mental health crisis, was shot to death next to the Saline River near his home on Oct. 17, 2016, after Partridge had called 911 asking for help for her son. Partridge and Keagan’s father, Dominic Schweikle of Durango, Colo., filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2017 against Kyle Ellison, the Benton police officer who shot Keagan, then-Police Chief Kirk Lane and the city of Benton over the Oct. 17, 2016 shooting.

Partridge, who currently lives in Colorado, and Schweikle have disputed the police version of events that claimed Keagan pointed his gun at officers as he was ordered to lower it from his own head when he was confronted by three officers that day.

Partridge said Keagan had turned 17 just two months before he was killed and she described him as a loving child who was crazy about baseball.

“He was an amazing kid,” she began, stopping briefly before continuing, “who had a really bad day that day. He was just a normal, baseball, just fun-loving kid. … His life, his whole world was baseball.”

Walking the jurors through the final day of her son’s life, Partridge told them of his suspension from school after being caught with codeine cough syrup in his pocket that he said he was holding for another student who had asked him to keep it for them while they went to the office. Although Keagan denied having taken any of the cough syrup he refused to tell who he had gotten it from, she

said.

A toxicology report shown to the jury later in the day showed that Keagan had marijuana and alprazolam in his system when he died but did not list codeine.

“The last thing I said was I needed to get him some help,” Partridge said. “I knew it was a situation I wasn’t going to be able to reel in. I was a single mom and I didn’t know what to do.”

She testified that she left the school with Keagan in tow, planning to drive him to Little Rock to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

“Did you go directly?” asked her attorney, Los Angeles-based Mark Geragos.

“I did not,” Partridge said, then broke down on the stand as she described the sequence of events that culminated in her son’s death at the hands of police.

“I left my wallet at the house,” she explained, tearfully. “I’d left the house so fast I didn’t even get my purse.”

Partridge broke down completely as Geragos played the 911 recording from that day. On the recording she could be heard saying, “Keagan, give me the gun now, don’t make it worse. The police are on their way.”

At one point on the recording as Partridge was heard telling the 911 dispatcher, “I’d rather get shot than him,” Partridge convulsed with sobs on the stand.

As police began arriving, she said, one asked if they could check the house. At that point, she said, the police drew their guns and began shouting, “Benton PD, Benton PD, Benton PD,” before running into the house.

“I could hear them upstairs just tearing stuff up,” she said. “They looked in my dishwasher. They just ransacked the house.”

After the shooting, Partridge said, she was not allowed to see her son’s body and said she was led to believe for several hours that he had shot himself. After being informed that a police officer had shot him, she said, she later saw a department spokesperson on the news saying that Keagan was shot after turning his gun on the police.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Partridge said, she began being harassed by Benton police who stopped her “roughly 22 or 24 times in the last five years,” to the point, she said, that she left Arkansas for Colorado last November.

As she described seeing Ellison arrive with his police dog the day her son was killed, Partridge grew angry.

“He showed up on the street and he got out like he was marching with that dog, almost like … the Gestapo,” she said. “He didn’t speak to me, didn’t ask me any questions … He charged into those woods. Keagan didn’t have a chance when he showed up. Not a chance. And he killed him. Didn’t even give him a chance. I’m furious. I’m sorry. Murderer, that’s what he is. Murderer.”

Under cross examination by Municipal League attorney Gabrielle Gibson, Partridge bristled even more as Gibson asked about her comment that Keagan “had a really bad day,” and then began asking if he had had previous issues.

“Let me clarify,” she said. “When I said it was just a bad day for him, well, he died. That’s what I meant. He was a normal 17-year-old child.”

Asked about drug issues, she said, “Well, he was smoking pot,” and said that she thought he had taken xanax on at least one occasion.

Gibson homed in on an earlier statement Partridge had made about Keagan startling her with the gun, to the point that she jumped back suddenly when he turned toward her.

“He did not point the gun at me,” she insisted. “He saw that it startled me.”

“You were scared, weren’t you?” Gibson asked.

“I wasn’t scared,” Partridge said. “I was startled.”

“You weren’t scared?” Gibson asked.

“Absolutely not. I was startled. I wasn’t afraid he was going to shoot me if that’s what you’re getting at,” Partridge said. “I was worried about him killing himself.”

“Why would Keagan shoot you?” Gibson asked later.

“I didn’t say he would shoot me,” Partridge answered, impatiently. “You’re the one who’s insinuating that.”

“On the 911 call you said ‘I rather get shot than him,’ now why. …”Gibson began.

“She asked me if I could disarm my son,” Partridge interrupted, angrily. “I said, ‘Sure, I would rather get shot in the process than him shoot himself,’ after a 911 operator I called for help asked me if I could disarm my child.”

A little later, as Gibson’s line of questioning continued, Partridge lashed out, then quickly apologized.

“Look, honey, I, I,” she began, then stopped. “I apologize. That was rude.”

“Do you want to take a break?”

“I don’t, I just want to get through with this,” Partridge replied. “I’ve waited eight years … I get defensive because for eight years I’ve been hearing him called a suspect and that it’s … my fault that he’s dead.”

“Why did you call 911?” asked Geragos on redirect.

“I called them for help,” Partridge said, plaintively. “That’s who you call.”

Testimony resumes this morning with Ellison expected to be called to testify.