Family sues cops for death

Aubrey Zellers died because he was beaten by Atlanta police and then denied the medical treatment he needed, a federal lawsuit contends.

Zellers, 21, died Oct. 11, 2006, after being chased by police near the Summerdale Commons apartments off Cleveland Avenue. Zellers’ father, a retired Atlanta firefighter, ran to the scene after getting a phone call about his son and tried unsuccessfully to give CPR, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Atlanta against the city and city police officers by Zellers’ father, Willie Zellers, and Dianne Lockett, described as Aubrey Zellers’ heirs. Their lawyer, Earle Burke, declined to comment.

An Atlanta police spokesman referred comment to the city Law Department. City Attorney Elizabeth Chandler on Friday declined comment on the merits of the case, saying the city had yet to be served the lawsuit.

Shortly after the incident, police said they pulled Aubrey Zellers over for “lane dragging” — engaging the brakes while pressing on the gas to make a car’s wheels spin furiously. Zellers, who had a suspended license, bolted from the blue 1987 Chevrolet, jumped a fence and fled. He was caught about 150 yards away.

One witness told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in October 2006 she saw officers repeatedly beat Zellers.

According to the lawsuit, Zellers did not fight with the officers. And even though “it was clear that he was in medical distress,” he was placed in a police wagon and not given medical attention, the suit said.

When Willie Zellers arrived at the scene, he saw his son’s eyes roll back in his head, and after the son was put in the wagon he was found to have no pulse, the lawsuit said. Willie Zellers tried in vain to give CPR for 25 to 30 minutes before an ambulance was called to the scene. Aubrey Zellers was pronounced dead a short time later, the suit said.

An autopsy ruled out the family’s contention that beating led to Zellers’ death, according to the Fulton County medical examiner’s office.