The household of an Arizona man fatally shot by Phoenix police after he threw rocks at their patrol automobiles has filed a discover of declare searching for $85 million.
Quacy Smith, an lawyer for Ali Osman’s household, filed the declare — a precursor to a lawsuit — on Friday naming town, its police division, Chief Michael Sullivan and two officers as defendants.
“The Claimants search an award of damages fairly calculated to compensate for the accidents they suffered in reference to the wrongful demise of Ali Osman on September 24, 2022,” the declare states.
Osman, 34, died at a hospital after two cops shot him close to an intersection in Phoenix. The division stated the incident stemmed from Osman hitting police cruisers with rocks. Smith stated Osman, who was Somali, was murdered.
“This isn’t simply murder. This was homicide,” he stated at a information convention earlier this month. “He ought to be in jail, not in a graveyard.”
Police stated that three officers in two patrol items had simply accomplished an unrelated name and have been driving on North nineteenth Avenue when “they noticed a person throwing rocks at their automobiles.”
“Each items concerned stopped additional down the road and spoke with one another about what occurred,” Sgt. Brian Bower stated in an Oct. 7 video assertion.
They requested help from a helicopter and from an officer “with much less deadly munitions” after which drove again to the intersection the place Osman was, Bower stated. Because the patrol automobiles approached the intersection, Osman continued to throw rocks, in response to the sergeant.
Edited physique digicam footage launched by the division reveals one officer exiting his automobile and ordering Osman to “drop it.”
“Put it down now,” the officer yells.
Osman seems to select up one other rock and throw it. Seconds later, the officer fires a number of photographs and Osman is seen collapsing to the bottom.
One other officer within the second patrol unit additionally fired his weapon at Osman, Bower stated. The third officer didn’t hearth.
Bower stated one of many rocks hit one of many officers within the shin and that each patrol automobiles have been broken, together with one which had a damaged highlight. Rocks collected from the scene weighed between 2.9 ounces to 19.8 ounces, in response to police.
The discover of declare says that Osman was “neither a menace of demise nor of nice bodily hurt to the officers” and was not “participating in conduct that justified the extent of drive utilized by the officers.” Osman’s household beforehand stated that he had handled psychological well being challenges.
The capturing stays below a felony and inner investigation. The police division and a union consultant didn’t reply to requests searching for touch upon Wednesday. The town stated it couldn’t touch upon pending litigation.
