Wrongful death lawsuit filed over 2022 death of teen during a traffic stop in Greensboro

The mother of a juvenile shot to death by an unnamed Greensboro police officer in August filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday in federal court.

In the lawsuit, the victim is identified as 17-year-old Nasanto Crenshaw. 

The incident occurred on West Market Street when police attempted to make a stop for a traffic violation. According to a press release from the police department regarding the incident, authorities learned the vehicle had been stolen. During the stop, the driver attempted to flee when the officer approached.

The suspect’s car struck the police car, some people jumped out and ran away, and the officer fired as the driver accelerated, police said in August.

Harry Daniels, an attorney for the family, says videos from police body-worn cameras show a different side of the incident. He says the fatal shots went in through the side of the vehicle, and not as it was coming straight toward the officer.

“The reason why that’s critical is because if an officer shoots into a moving vehicle when the officer is not into the trajectory path of the vehicle then the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has held that it is a violation.” 

Police officials have not publicly named the officer and in the lawsuit the defendant is listed as “John Doe.” Daniels says it’s “unconscionable” that a grieving mother doesn’t know the name of the person who shot her son more than six months later.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation took the lead in a probe of the incident, a standard procedure when officers fire upon a suspect. That investigation was completed in November and the results were forwarded to the Guilford County District Attorney’s office.

Assistant District Attorney Chris Parrish says the office has received the SBI report and is reviewing the results.