The Fresno Police Department is accused of using unnecessary and excessive force.
On Easter Sunday Jerel Stanfield was shot during a police pursuit.
Officers had tracked him down as a murder suspect.
The 25 year-old now suffers from a brain injury and is partially paralyzed.
The department is defending its actions but his family and now an attorney says he was unfairly targeted.
"To me it was totally wrong for the police to do that because he wasn't a threat to them, he was running away from them," says Stanfield's mother Chantal Lewis.
Stanfield's family will seek millions of dollars in damages.
The lawsuit should be filed within the next two months.
Chief Jerry Dyer says Stanfield was a threat that day.
"We have an independent witness that saw Stanfield running with that handgun in his hand prior to the officers shooting him," says Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Chief Dyer says the district attorney's office is reviewing all of the information to determine if in fact the shooting was legally justified.
On Easter Sunday Jerel Stanfield was shot during a police pursuit.
Officers had tracked him down as a murder suspect.
The 25 year-old now suffers from a brain injury and is partially paralyzed.
The department is defending its actions but his family and now an attorney says he was unfairly targeted.
"To me it was totally wrong for the police to do that because he wasn't a threat to them, he was running away from them," says Stanfield's mother Chantal Lewis.
Stanfield's family will seek millions of dollars in damages.
The lawsuit should be filed within the next two months.
Chief Jerry Dyer says Stanfield was a threat that day.
"We have an independent witness that saw Stanfield running with that handgun in his hand prior to the officers shooting him," says Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Chief Dyer says the district attorney's office is reviewing all of the information to determine if in fact the shooting was legally justified.