Pubdate: Wed, 5 Jun 2002 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2002 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: http://home.post-dispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418 Author: Peter Shinkle WIDOW OF MAN KILLED AT JACK IN THE BOX FILES SUIT The widow of a man slain by law officers during a drug bust in June 2000 at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Berkeley filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday, claiming her husband's civil rights were violated. Yolanda Beasley, wife of Ronald Beasley, claims in the suit that the two officers opened fire "without cause or provocation" during an attempted arrest at the fast food restaurant in Berkeley, killing her husband and another man as they sat in a car. Police have said the operation was aimed at arresting the driver of the car, Earl Murray, who was suspected of dealing drugs, and that the officers opened fire in self-defense only after the vehicle lurched toward them. It turned out the men were unarmed. Small amounts of crack cocaine and heroin were found in the car. Tests determined that Ronald Beasley had used heroin in the hours before his death. The incident set off a storm of protest as critics charged the police had acted with unwarranted recklessness. Some raised concerns about racism, noting the two officers, who are white, fired on two black men. The release of tapes of grand jury testimony recently fueled new demands from local civil rights leaders to reopen the investigation. The suit names the two officers as defendants: Robert Piekutowski, a detective with the Dellwood Police Department, and Keith Kierzkowski, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. They were working with a St. Louis County drug task force on the day of the shooting, June 12, 2000. The two officers, Dellwood's police chief and a DEA spokeswoman could not be reached for comment Tuesday. St. Louis County Police spokesman Rick Eckhard declined to comment. Yolanda Beasley also is bringing the suit on behalf of the couple's two children. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens