F. Lee Bailey Hired In Police Gunbattle Case Father Promises To Pursue Civil-Rights Case Against Boise Department In Sept. 20 Shootout

The parents of two brothers who died in a shootout with Idaho police have hired attorney F. Lee Bailey to represent them in a civil-rights case against authorities.

Bailey, who represented Ohio doctor Sam Sheppard and recently settled an abuse case involving police in Memphis, Tenn., said Wednesday that he will handle any civil actions pressed by Martin and Patricia Brodrick of Brush Valley, about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

No lawsuit has been filed, but Martin Brodrick has promised one. He has hired a private investigator in Boise and plans to travel there soon.

His sons, Craig, 30, and Doug, 27, and Idaho police officer Mark Stall, 29, died Sept. 20 after what police called a routine traffic stop escalated into a shootout in downtown Boise. Craig was hit by at least 12 and possibly 25 bullets and Doug by at least seven. Stall was shot once.

“The sheer number of bullet wounds in this case is astounding, given the story that we have heard from police,” Bailey said from his office in West Palm Beach, Fla. “And there are indications that the police in Idaho are trigger-happy. Here we have two young men, both with good backgrounds, both dead.”

Police say that officers fired repeatedly at Craig Brodrick, even after their first shots knocked him to the ground, because he continued going for his pistol.

Martin Brodrick said he hired Bailey because he has long respected his work and because he wanted the case to attract some publicity.

“It will bring attention to the problems that are going on out there,” said Brodrick, a 55-year-old retiree from the Pennsylvania Electric Co. Boise police have been criticized for a series of shootings by officers.

The shootout with the Brodricks was the seventh involving officers in the past 20 months. One of the seven officers involved in the Brodrick incident had fatally shot another suspect earlier this year.

Bailey’s clients have included Sheppard, the doctor and murder suspect whose case was the inspiration for “The Fugitive,” Patty Hearst and the Boston Strangler, Albert DiSalvo. Bailey also was part of O.J. Simpson’s defense team.

In 1996, Bailey served 43 days in jail for failing to turn over $16 million in stock from a drug dealer he represented. Federal authorities said the money was theirs under forfeiture laws. Bailey said the stock, which he eventually gave up, was his payment.

He said the Memphis case he recently settled involved a chokehold by police, though the amount paid to his Memphis clients remains secret under court order.

Brodrick acknowledged that hiring Bailey may be costly. He also hired pathologist Cyril Wecht, who investigated the assassination of President Kennedy and performed an autopsy on David Koresh.

“At this point, I’d give up everything I have for my boys,” Brodrick said.

Meanwhile, Boise residents voiced frustration with and support for the city’s police at a sometimes emotional town hall meeting on the six incidents that have left eight men dead.

At least 400 people attended Tuesday night’s meeting, and more than 100 people signed up to speak. Most of those who spoke called either for reform of police practices or for some sort of citizen review.

Mayor Brent Coles called the meeting in response to the shootout with the Brodricks that also left Officer Ron Winegar wounded.

Solutions to improve police relations included the use of stun guns, converting the old armory into a gathering place for teenagers and installing video cameras in police cars. One woman volunteered her services as a professional mediator.