Elderly Woman Cleared In Neighbor Dispute That Turned Deadly
(CBS) – A 92-year-old woman whose husband was fatally shot by their police officer neighbor earlier this year has been acquitted by a judge.
On Monday, Hazel Jones Huff got her good name back, CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports.
"I put it in the hands of the Lord," Huff said.
It all stemmed from a neighbors dispute over knocked over flower pots. Things came to a boil in late April in the 8400 block of South Carpenter in Chicago's Gresham neighborhood.
Authorities said at the time that Huff's husband, 87-year-old Joe Huff, began arguing with their neighbors, an off-duty officer and the officer's wife. Joe Huff confronted the couple with a shotgun and shot the officer's wife in the arm.
The officer then fatally shot his neighbor and wounded Hazel Jones Huff when she allegedly tried to pick up her husband's gun.
"My legs still bother me where he shot me – twice," the widow says. "And seeing my husband laying there dead, Lord, I just want to talk about. I just don't want to talk about it."
Mrs. Huff was the only one charged in the aftermath. Her attorneys want to know why.
"Are you saying it's OK for an officer to shoot a defenseless elderly women and women. I hope that's not the message," her attorney, Brunell Donald-Kyei, told reporters.
The widow and her family are now pursuing a civil case against the officer and his wounded wife.
