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The family of a deceased woman has filed suit against the police officer who they claim wrongly shot and killed a 20-year-old woman.
The family of Alexandra Nance alleges she was shot and killed by O'Fallon police officer and defendant Adam Scott Taulbee on Nov. 8, 2010, in O'Fallon.
Plaintiffs Tere Nance, Craig Nance and Whitney L. Nance claim that Taulbee shot Alexandra Nance four times.
According to news reports following the incident, police had been called to Alexandra Nance's boyfriend's home earlier in the night. A resident of the home had called to request help in getting Alexandra Nance to leave.
Police escorted Alexandra Nance away from the home, but later found her driving a Ford Ranger pickup past the house in the 800 block of Victoria Lane, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. When Taulbee attempted to pull Alexandra Nance over, she tried to ram his police car, then pulled into her boyfriend's driveway, the story states.
As Taulbee began to approach the truck parked in the driveway, Alexandra Nance stayed inside the vehicle and began threatening him with a handgun, the article says. Subsequently, Taulbee shot Alexandra Nance.
Alexandra Nance's family acknowledge that Alexandra Nance was distraught over her boyfriend, but say that Taulbee could have taken other actions instead of shooting Alexandra Nance.
Taulbee, for instance, failed to wait for back-up officers before approaching the truck, failed to position himself in such a way as to prevent the necessary use of deadly force and fired the shots at Alexandra Nance when she was not a threat, according to the plaintiffs' complaint.
In addition to Taulbee, the Nances name the city of O'Fallon as a defendant, alleging it negligently failed to properly supervise and train Taulbee, failed to have in place procedures that would require Taulbee to wait for appropriate back-up and failed to train Taulbee to place himself in a safe position, which would allow him to refrain from the use of deadly force.
In their two-count complaint, the Nances seek a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs.
Thomas O. Falb of Williamson, Webster, Falb and Glisson in Alton will be representing them.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 11-L-626.