VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — What happened nearly a year ago on a violent night at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront is now in the hands of a federal court judge in Norfolk.
25-year-old Donovon Lynch was shot and killed by Virginia Beach police officer Solomon Simmons III in a night of chaos on March 26, 2021 that included numerous incidents of gun-related violence along the resort area. Simmons, following a grand jury investigation, was later cleared of wrongdoing. An investigation showed Lynch brandished a firearm.
Donovon’s father, Wayne Lynch, disputes this finding and has sued the officer and the City of Virginia Beach in a $50-million wrongful death case.
While a trial date has not been posted to public records, 10 On Your Side has been able to review various pre-trial filings that will establish the ground rules if the $50 million wrongful death case goes to trial.
Judge Arenda Wright, in reviewing a request from the City of Virginia Beach, removed Simmons as a police officer from the case on Monday but let stand Simmons (as a private citizen) and the City of Virginia Beach as defendants.
Wright wrote in a ruling that a case against Simmons the officer and the City of Virginia Beach would be duplicative.
Much of the Lynch family’s case focuses on whether officer Simmons, who was known to Lynch, was improperly trained in the use of deadly force.
In issuing her order, Wright wrote about the night Lynch died, calling it “an event of a type that has plagued this country in recent memory.”
Lynch wasn’t the only fatality that night. 29-year-old reality television star DeShayla Harris was killed when she was struck in the head by what police said was a stray bullet. Her case remains unsolved.