Vermont Family Seeks Wrongful Death Retrial Against State Police

The family of a mentally ill Vermont man shot to death by Vermont State Police troopers is asking a federal appeals court to order a wrongful death trial.

The family of Robert Fortunati wants a new trial on their claims that police fatally shot Fortunati without provocation and then tried to cover it up.

The family claims Vermont District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha should not have dismissed parts of the original case before it went to trial. They also claim the judge overlooked important evidence.

In May 2006, the 40-year-old Fortunati, who suffered from mental illness, was shot to death during a confrontation with police on a remote back road in Corinth.

In December 2009 Murtha dismissed the original wrongful death lawsuit.