A federal lawsuit over the fatal police shooting of four-year-old Terrell Miller could be narrowed significantly after attorneys for the city of Macomb and Lt. Nick Goc asked a judge to dismiss all but one of the case’s counts.
The lawsuit, which makes civil rights and wrongful death claims, was filed in March 2026 by the estate of Terrell Miller and the child’s mother, Keianna Miller.
That was two years after Goc shot and killed Terrell and 57-year-old Anthony George while responding to a domestic violence call at a Macomb apartment.
In a motion filed June 5, attorneys for the city and Goc argued four of the five counts should be dismissed because they were filed beyond the one-year statute of limitations for claims against municipalities and their employees.
The motion does not seek dismissal of the lawsuit’s federal civil rights claim, though the defendants deny allegations that Goc violated the child’s constitutional rights.
The shooting happened on the evening of March 16, 2024. That night, police responded to an apartment in the 900 block of North Charles Street following reports of a woman screaming for help.
When Goc and Officer Korri Cameron arrived on scene, they heard screaming inside the apartment, forced entry into it, and found Keianna Miller suffering from multiple stab wounds.
About 20 feet away, George was at the end of the hallway. George reached into a bedroom and pulled Terrell into the hallway, holding knives to the child’s throat and stomach.
Goc fired one shot that killed George and the child.
Two internal review panels absolved Goc in the shooting, and the state appellate prosecutor’s office found no basis for criminal charges against him.
The defendants have also raised qualified immunity as a defense, arguing a reasonable officer in Goc’s position could have believed deadly force was justified.
The federal judge overseeing the case has not yet ruled on the motion to dismiss four of the counts.
Terrell’s estate and mother are seeking damages in the case.
