Teen Arrested Following Fatal 2009 Shooting Contends Champaign Police Chief Fired Shot

UPDATE: This story was updated October 15th to include comments from Alfred Ivey, attorney for Jeshuan Manning-Carter and Laura Manning.

The teen arrested last October when 15-year old Kiwane Carrington was killed during an altercation with Champaign Police has filed a lawsuit against the city.

In the suit filed October 6th by 16-year old Jeshaun Manning-Carter and his mother, Laura Manning - they contend that it was Police Chief RT Finney, and not officer Daniel Norbits, who fired the bullet that killed Carrington. The shooting was ruled accidental, and no charges were filed. Norbits remains on leave while contesting a 30-day unpaid suspension. The lawsuit filed by attorney Alfred Ivy reads that Finney "fired a shot downward into the chest of Kiwane Carrington, killing Carrington."

Champaign Deputy City Attorney Trisha Crowley said the allegations are completely false, and she added that the city will vigorously defend them.

"There's been extensive internal and external investigations by law enforcement agencies and others," said Crowley. "The evidence has always been extremely clear that Chief Finney was not the shooter in this case."

Alfred Ivey, the attorney for Manning-Carter and his mother, says he filed the suit using the story Manning Carter gave him - a version of the shooting incident that he says went untold because the teenager was traumatized by Carrington's death.

"I saw this (Manning-Carter's delay in speaking out) as him trying to get himself back in balance", says Ivey. "Because, instead of being allowed to grieve properly for his best friend, who he saw shot and killed in front of him, he's now fighting a criminal case."

Manning-Carter was charged with resisting a peace officer, but the charges were later dismissed.

The family of Kiwane Carrington recently settled with the city after a separate lawsuit, agreeing on an amount of 470-thousand dollars.

It has been just over a year since Carrington was killed following a report of a break-in at a home on West Vine Street. The home was used as a starting point for this year's Champaign-Urbana Unity March, held October 9th