PORTLAND, Maine (Portland Press Herald) — The mother of a 2012 murder victim who was herself shot in the attack that killed her son has filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Biddeford, the Maine Public Safety Department and several public employees and police officers, alleging police ignored threats by the shooter before he ultimately killed two teenagers.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland on behalf of Susan Johnson, seeks unspecified damages, and stems from the December 2012 double murder of Derrick Thompson, 19, and Alivia Welch, 18, who were killed by their landlord, James Pak, 79. The shooting grew out of a dispute involving parking and snow removal at an apartment on Sokokis Road in Biddeford. Police initially responded, but left after roughly 40 minutes when they concluded that the parking dispute was a civil matter.