Jury Trial In Sabo Lawsuit Could Begin In December

After a year of motions, dismissals and appeals, is scheduled to begin Dec. 19 in the Northern District of Ohio's U.S. Federal Court.

The suit is filed against Mentor Police Sgt. Scott Tkach who fatally shot Sabo during a brief standoff Feb. 5, 2009.

Sabo had been acting unusually that afternoon, so his family called for paramedics to come to his house on Roselawn Drive. However, when paramedics arrived, Sabo would not cooperate with them.

Paramedics claimed Sabo mentioned getting a gun, so they evacuated the house and took his wife, Dian Sabo, with them as a safety precaution.

Police responded to the scene, including Tkach. After a brief standoff, Richard Sabo came out of the house with a shotgun. Police said that Sabo pointed the shotgun at police and Tkach fired a single bullet that went through Sabo's lungs and heart, killing him.

Since Sabo's death, the family has maintained that Tkach never actually saw Richard aim his gun.

Dian Sabo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tkach, the city of Mentor and several other unnamed police and firefighters in federal court.

Then, U.S. District Judge James S. Gwin dismissed all federal charges against the city of Mentor but not Tkach last year.

In his decision, Gwin wrote, "It is not clear whether Richard Sabo actually took aim with his gun while walking down the driveway. If Sabo was in fact aiming his gun at the officers on the street, then Officer Tkach would likely be justified in using deadly force. However, if Sabo was not aiming his gun and was instead merely turning or walking away, then Tkach’s conduct is far less reasonable."

Tkach to not have the suit against him summarily dismissed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

However, . They released a decision saying that there were "genuine issues of material fact regarding whether Tkach had probable cause to believe that Mr. Sabo posed an immediate threat to the safety of fellow officers."

Gwin will preside over the trial if it begins Dec. 19. It could, of course, be rescheduled to a later date.