City of Benton found at fault in death of suicidal teen, hit with $32 million verdict

Alex Kienlen
·2 min read

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The 2016 shooting death of a suicidal teen in Benton led to a $32 million jury award for the family on Monday.

The jury found the city liable for not properly training officers or investigating the shooting death of 17-year-old Keagan Schweikle. For the two charges, the jury fined the city $15 million each at the end of the six-day trial.

Piper Partridge and Dominic Schweikle, the parents of Keagan Schweikle, originally filed the suit in July 2017.

Parents of Teen Who Died in Police Shooting File Lawsuit Against City of Benton

The training charge was based on the department not having properly trained officers for dealing with a mental health crisis, which Keagan Schweikle is alleged to have been going through on Oct. 17, 2016. During the incident, the teen was holding a gun to his head while threatening suicide.

Benton Chief of Police Kirk Lane was also found liable for not properly training officers or investigating the shooting, resulting in two additional $1 million awards to the plaintiffs for a total of $32 million.

Parents of Teen Shot, Killed by Benton Officer Speak Out

Benton police officer Kyle Ellison, who fatally shot Keagan Schweikle, was also named in the lawsuit but was found not liable by the jury.

The complaint filed by attorneys representing the mother and father stated that Keagan Schweikle was holding a gun to his head and had been commanded by Ellison to drop the gun when he was shot in the chest.

Appeals panel revives lawsuit over 2016 police shooting

The case was previously dismissed by a federal judge in Little Rock, who ruled that the officer could have reasonably feared for his life. An appellate court later restored the lawsuit in June 2023, noting that Schweikle was not resisting or fleeing when he was shot as he moved his gun in compliance with the officer’s commands to drop it.

KARK 4 News reached out to the Benton mayor’s office about the verdict but was redirected to the Arkansas Municipal League. The Municipal League legal department has not responded to requests for comment at the time this story was published.

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