Original Article Shooting not merited, Lovelace board told Kevin Blocker The Arizona Republic Jan. 25, 2005 12:00 AM CHANDLER - A Florida police consultant testified Monday before the city's Merit Review Board that fired police Officer Dan Lovelace should have let Dawn Rae Nelson go instead of firing into her car more than two years ago. "The world won't sink if the suspect does indeed flee," said Ken Katsaris, an expert witness who was testifying for the city. "Pursuits involving low-level misdemeanor offenses are frequently called off." Lovelace, 40, shot and killed Nelson, 35, outside a Walgreens drive-through as she tried to fill a forged prescription. After a department investigation, the city's Use of Force Review Board ruled the shooting was not justified and fired Lovelace the same day he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. A jury acquitted him in July, and he is seeking reinstatement with the city. Under cross-examination, Lovelace's attorney, Michael Napier, made a point of saying that Katsaris previously testified for the city on several other cases, including another high-profile one involving Lovelace. Bradley Downing III was killed in 2000 at McQueen and Warnerroads during a high-speed chase involving Lovelace, who was pursuing Rosemarie Forker in a suspected stolen car. In that case, Lovelace was accused of disobeying an order to halt the pursuit, which reached 100 mph. Forker was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Lovelace was exonerated. The city has had to pay large settlements in both the Downing and Nelson cases. In the Nelson shooting, Napier asked Katsaris on Monday if he thought deadly force is justified when an officer is under assault by a moving vehicle. Katsaris said it was. However, he added, he didn't believe Lovelace was in imminent danger when he shot Nelson. Katsaris said Lovelace should have used backup officers to head off Nelson later. "Officer Lovelace merely needed to put out information on a low-level misdemeanor," Katsaris said. By radioing information to officers in the area, Nelson likely could have been prevented from fleeing the area entirely. Katsaris said that with the information Lovelace had going into the call about possible prescription fraud, his background and training should have led him to believe that Nelson would probably try to escape. The fact that Lovelace tried to position his motorcycle as a barricade to keep Nelson from fleeing was every indication to Katsaris that Lovelace suspected Nelson would attempt a getaway. The hearing is scheduled to resume Feb. 11.