BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- The fate of a man whose actions prompted a new Kentucky law that can make fleeing from police a felony will be decided by a Kenton County jury this week.
Shawnta Robertson, the man police were chasing when Officer Mike Partin fell to his death in the Ohio River in January, faces trial Wednesday on a charge of manslaughter.
His lawyer, Ken Lawson, has argued that Kentucky's manslaughter law is unconstitutional in Mr. Robertson's case, because Mr. Robertson could not have known that night as he ran from police that his conduct could constitute manslaughter.
Mr. Robertson, 21, was running from a police officer in the early morning hours of Jan. 4, after he was stopped at a traffic light in Covington.
Officer Partin, 25, who had been on the Covington force just 15 months, was helping another officer chase Mr. Robertson, when he fell through a gap in the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.
He was the first Covington police officer to die in the line of duty in almost 30 years.
Kenton Commonwealth's Attorney Don Buring disagreed with Mr. Lawson.
"If we didn't believe we had a prosecutable case based on the law and the facts, we would not have sought an indictment in this case," Mr. Buring said. .
Mr. Robertson initially was charged with driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, and disregarding a traffic signal.
The manslaughter charge was added, and the others dropped. Mr. Lawson said his client, who spent the summer behind bars under $100,000 cash bond, is hopeful of receiving justice.
"I just think that it's an emotional case, and that's what scares me about it," he said.
On May 18, after a 134-day search, Officer Partin's body was discovered, just west of the Anderson Ferry.
A month before, the officer's widow, Lisa, met personally with Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton while he signed legislation named for her husband.
The new law upgrades from a misdemeanor to a felony any action in fleeing from police that causes a risk of death, serious injury or serious damage to property.
Since the Partin law took effect, two Cincinnati men have been charged under it.
Damon C. James, 20, was arrested the day the new law took effect, after he allegedly ignored a Newport police officer's lights and siren, and fled across the narrow, two-lane L&N Bridge to Cincinnati.
In August, Earl Franklin York led Florence police on a chase across the Ohio River, hitting three vehicles before crashing on the Sixth Street Viaduct, authorities said. Both cases are pending in the courts.
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