Both sides hopeful after arguing death of man Tasered 19 times by police

Attorneys for both sides are hopeful after arguing the death of a 25-year-old man who was shot with a Taser 19 times and bound by law enforcement officers on the night of March 24, 2013 before he died.

Attorneys representing the family of Khari Neville Illidge and law enforcement officers from Phenix City Police Department and Lee County Sheriff’s Office argued the death of Illidge before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday at the Frank M. Johnson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Montgomery, Ala. The hearing in the appeals court came less than a year after a District Court granted summary judgment to defendants in the case.

Defendants in the case include the city of Phenix City, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, Charles W. Jenkins Jr., Steven M. Mills, Ray Smith, Joey Williams, David Butler, Shawn Sheely, and Raymond J. Smith. A claim was filed by Gladis Callwood, the mother of Illidge.

Sidney Monroe Jackson, one of the attorneys representing Callwood, said the attorneys are hopeful the judges will see the case as they argued it.

“You aren’t just relying on oral arguments but also arguing on the strength of the brief,” Jackson said Friday from Birmingham,

Ala. “Those two combined are what’s going to get you a good decision.”

Jackson said the attorneys welcomed the opportunity to appeal the case to the 11th Circuit. “We were happy to argue our case before them,” he said. “We are holding our breath and just waiting on that.”

Glenn Channing Gamble of McKoon & Gamble in Phenix City is part of a team of attorneys representing the defendants. “We expect and we hope the 11th Circuit will affirm the District Court’s order in granting summary judgment,” he said.

The case centers on Illidge, who was with a friend the night he started acting strangely. He pulled off his clothes and started walking naked down the road toward his friend’s yard.

The first deputies to respond to a 6:45 p.m. call on Lee County Road 314 were Deputy Steven Mills and Deputy Ray Smith patrolling in separate vehicles. Mills encountered the naked man and said on his radio that he is mentally ill and possibly under the influence. He was told the man had entered a residence on Lee County Road 308.

During Mills’ encounter with the man, Illidge walked toward Mills, forcing the deputy to fire his Taser. After he was struck several times, Illidge slung the deputy at lest 10 feet on Pierce Road.

Illidge continued to a doctor’s home in the 1800 block of Pierce Road. There, he disregarded orders to get on the ground. He went to the house and shook the door knob but didn’t enter. During a rapid move by him toward the officer, Ray Smith fired his Taser 14 times and Illidge fell to the ground. Mills and Butler used their weight in an attempt to get handcuffs on the man.

Phenix City officers Shawn Sheely and Joey Williams arrived to assist with the man who was kicking. Charles Jenkins arrived with leg shackles and cuffs that were placed on Illidge. Williams placed one knee between the man’s shoulder blades and the other in the middle of his back while Sheely was restraining the man’s legs. Court documents state that Williams weighed 385 pounds at the time.

Illidge, who had a frothy substance and blood exiting his nose and mouth after being restrained, was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Both sides hopeful after arguing death of man Tasered 19 times by police."