Settlement reached in case of Newport News man killed by police in his living room in 2019

The family of a Newport News man who was shot and killed by police in 2019 agreed to settle a pending wrongful death claim against two officers.

An attorney representing the estate of Henry K. Berry III filed a notice in Newport News Circuit Court saying he will ask a judge on June 1 to “enter an order approving the settlement of this matter.”

“We have reached a resolution subject to court approval,” lawyer Mike AtLee said Friday when asked about the filing.

AtLee declined to reveal the dollar amount, but said specifics will be spelled out at the June hearing. Under Virginia’s Wrongful Death Act, a Circuit Court judge must approve such an agreement and its terms.

AtLee and two other attorneys for Berry’s estate sued two officers, Sgt. Albin Trevor Pearson and Officer Dwight Pitterson, in December 2021, seeking $15 million in damages.

Berry’s only son, who is now 13, is the claim’s sole beneficiary, according to rules outlined in Virginia law.

The boy’s mother, Jennifer Scott, will attend the hearing by remote video, a court filing said. Berry’s father, Henry K. Berry Jr., the administrator of his son’s estate, also will be on hand.

The city of Newport News is on the hook to pay the settlement.

Senior Deputy City Attorney Darlene Bradberry could not immediately be reached on the agreement. It couldn’t be determined whether the Newport News City Council signed off on the deal.

The City Attorney’s Office hired attorney James A. Cales III to represent Pearson and lawyer Christopher Hedrick for Pitterson. Cales declined to comment on the case, while Hedrick didn’t return a call.

A retired Circuit Court judge from Virginia Beach, Thomas Padrick, will rule on the agreement. He was appointed to the case in December after all five Newport News judges recused themselves.

Berry, 43, was shot and killed Dec. 27, 2019, during a struggle with officers over a Taser in his Oyster Point condominium.

Four officers had responded to Berry’s home that night after he repeatedly called 911 out of concern for his son. The officers barged into the home without a warrant as they sought to arrest him on a misdemeanor charge of abusing the city’s 911 system.

Pitterson — the patrol officer who first fired a Taser at Berry’s chest at close range — was acquitted of malicious wounding, trespassing and other charges at a jury trial in September 2021, and is back at work.

Pearson, who shot and killed Berry during the subsequent struggle over the Taser, was convicted last year of voluntary manslaughter and entering the home unlawfully. He was sentenced to six years in prison and is no longer on the force.

The complaint in the civil case, filed by AtLee and attorneys Scott Flax and John Fletcher, accuses Pearson and Pitterson of being reckless in their actions. The officers, the complaint said, displayed “an utter disregard of caution and a complete neglect of Berry’s safety.”

The complaint maintains officers failed to allow an officer who had crisis intervention training to gain Berry’s cooperation — even as officers knew he was struggling with mental health issues.

Berry called Newport News police to report concerns about his then-9-year-old son. That was about 10 days after he lost custody of the boy following a mental health episode.

Berry first told dispatchers that the boy was “missing,” but changed that to say he wanted police to check on the boy after a video call in which he noted a bruise under the boy’s eye.

Pearson and Pitterson responded to Berry’s home and reviewed the video, telling Berry they thought the boy looked fine.

But Berry called police in Fairfax — where he incorrectly thought his son was — with that county’s dispatchers telling him he needed to get Newport News police to verify that a home check in Fairfax was necessary.

Berry called Newport News again and asked for different officers. But Pearson learned of the calls and decided to respond himself along with Pitterson, Krystle Alexander and another officer.

In the parking lot, Pearson told the other officers they would arrest Berry for falsely summoning law enforcement with the series of calls.

Alexander — who was trained in crisis intervention for those with mental illnesses — knocked on the door and introduced herself, and Berry asked if she wanted to see the video. She said “sure,” but then asked Berry to come outside to talk.

“No, I’d rather stand right here,” Berry replied.

“Well, Mr. Berry, you need to come out and talk to us at this point,” Pearson interjected from behind Alexander. “You need to hang up the phone from 911.”

When Berry stepped back to close the door, the officers blocked it from closing, and Pearson led the chase inside.

“They’re trying to kill me!” Berry yells as a clock is knocked from his wall. “God help me!”

An intense struggle ensued, and Berry ended up seated against the wall in a small hallway off the living room, with officers straddling or surrounding him.

“I understand you’re upset, and things are going on,” Alexander told Berry in a calming voice. “But right now, you’re under arrest, and you need to put your hands behind your back, OK?”

The lawsuit contends that Berry was “fully restrained,” and that Alexander was successfully “de-escalating the situation.” But Pitterson then inexplicably pointed the Taser to Berry’s chest and deployed it, the complaint said.

Pitterson used the standard Taser mechanism that shoots out barbs, a function not designed for close quarters. He could have instead used the Taser’s “drive stun” feature, a pain compliance mechanism.

The lawsuit contended the Taser usage “was in direct contravention” of Pitterson’s training.

During an ensuing struggle over the Taser, another barb was discharged, striking Pearson in the leg and also shocking Alexander. That’s when Pearson took out his handgun and shot Berry once in the back.

Though the video was unclear as to who controlled the Taser, Pearson testified at his criminal trial that Berry had gained control of it and that Pearson had no choice but to shoot and defend his fellow officers.

Before the jury made its decision, Judge Margaret Poles Spencer instructed the jury to regard the officers’ attempted arrest of Berry and their entry into his home as “unlawful.”

She ruled the arrest was unlawful because the officers had no arrest warrant and no probable cause as she said Berry didn’t commit the misdemeanor crime in their presence.

Now 36, Pearson is being held at the Haynesville Correctional Center, scheduled for release in September 2026 with projected good time credits. He has appealed his conviction, with the initial appeal brief due in about three weeks.

Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, pdujardin@dailypress.com