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U.S. District Court Judge Therese Wiley Dancks made the decision after jurors said they could not reach a verdict. Jurors were weighing whether Investigator Brett Ferris used reasonable force when he shot Joshua Scism on on June 13, 2016.
Investigator Brett Ferris testified he shot Joshua Scism after Scism pulled a gun during a June 13, 2016 confrontation, but jury heard contradictory remarks from police informant who said Scism did not pull the weapon from his waistband
Investigator Brett Ferris' lawyer suggests Chrystal Scism filed the lawsuit in an act of revenge. She acknowledges she was angry about the death of her husband, Joshua Scism, retorting "Nobody’s civil rights should be violated the way they were.”
Detective Brett Ferris is the subject of a federal civil rights lawsuit in a fatal Schenectady police shooting
The widow of Joshua Scism contends her husband's 2016 death was a case of police brutality but lawyers for Investigator Brett Ferris contend Scism brandished a handgun before being shot