Rodney Hargrove, Jr., 20, was killed on bail in a mix-up case just 47 minutes after his release from prison.
The family of a man killed outside a Philadelphia prison just an hour after his release has filed a lawsuit against the city and various law enforcement officials.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Rodney “Rodie” Hargove, 20 years old, was shot and killed about 47 minutes after he was released on bail from the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.
Hargrove was let out on the streets early in the morning, according to Curran Fromhold’s policy.
By leaving the facility at around 1am, Hargrove was dead in less than an hour; Philadelphia police later arrested a 16-year-old man and charged him with murder.
“He didn’t deserve this, not even close,” Hargrove’s father Rodney Hargrove Sr. told ABC 6.
Hargrove Sr. said he is still shocked by what happened.
Yellow police tape with black inscription: “Do Not Cross”. Image by David von Diemar, via Unsplash.com.
“Disbelief,” he said. “I didn’t know what nothing was. I did not understand it. They told me my baby was gone. “
“I want justice,” added Hargrove Sr.. “I want answers on how that happened, and I don’t want anyone to go through what I and my family are going through because it should and could have been avoided.”
ABC 6 notes that the younger Hargrove was transported across the street to a SEPTA bus stop after his release at 1am.
While waiting for the bus to arrive, Hargrove ran back to the prison in a chased car.
However, there was no guard at the gate and Hargrove was shot right outside the prison.
“I just want to know why no one has been where they should be,” said the Hargrove family. “Why wasn’t the guard at the gate? The things that make the cars go in and out because my baby ran back there for help and it was a ghost town. Nobody was there.”
Law enforcement has since believed that Hargrove was mistaken for someone else and that he was not the intended target of the hit.
“When the shooter was arrested, all press reports indicated that it was a case of mix-up, this was not a target,” said attorney Gregory Spizer of the VSCP law firm. “Rodney Hargrove was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that’s unfortunately what our case is about.
“He shouldn’t have been in the wrong place.”
The lawsuit, the Inquirer says, was filed late Tuesday by Hargrove’s parents Rodney and Cindy Hargrove. Their lawsuit accuses Philadelphia and Curran-Fromhold officials of “gross negligence, outrageous conduct and reckless misconduct” and indifference to his safety, “despite all the known dangers in the defendants’ nightly release policies and lack of adequate security.
Spizer says prison officials already knew the dangers of a nightly release.
“Our position and the facts determine that the prison community has known for years that late-night releases are problematic, that there have been other reports of deaths and injuries,” he said.
The lawsuit, the Inquirer adds, calls for a jury trial and unspecified damages.
While the prison has already changed its policy on nighttime releases and guard duty, the complaint alleges that those changes should have been made by now.
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Family files lawsuit after man was killed in front of Philadelphia Jail 1 hour after release
The parents of the man who was shot after leaving a Philadelphia prison have sued the city and prison authorities
