REDDING — The family of an attorney found shot in the head in a wrecked car in western Connecticut has filed a lawsuit alleging police rushed to judgment in declaring the death a suicide and didn’t properly investigate because he was black.
Gugsa Abraham “Abe” Dabela’s family sued Redding police in federal court Tuesday, exactly two years after his death. The family has also hired its own forensic experts, and Connecticut NAACP officials are looking into Dabela’s death.
The suit alleges police in Redding, a mostly white town, immediately ruled Dabela’s death a suicide because he was black. It also alleges police violated his civil rights when they delayed processing his concealed pistol permit a year before his death.
Police Chief Douglas Fuchs says he can’t comment on pending litigation.
