Family of Detroit man killed by police during mental health crisis sues city and 5 officers for $50 million
The mother of a young Detroit man shot more than a dozen times by police during a mental health crisis filed a $50 million lawsuit against the city and five
The mother of a young Detroit man shot more than a dozen times by police during a mental health crisis filed a $50 million lawsuit against the city and five unidentified officers.
Quieauna Wilson’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, who filed the suit Tuesday, told reporters at a news conference that officers "executed" Porter Burks on Oct. 1.
"There’s absolutely no excuse for the execution of Porter Burks under the facts and circumstances of this case. The Detroit police had a myriad of alternatives available other than executing him by firing squad," Fieger said, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Bodycam shows Detroit police fatally shoot man with knife during mental health checkOct. 6, 202201:56The lawsuit, obtained by NBC News, described Burks, 20, as someone who liked to dance and listen to music but said he had struggled with his mental health since high school. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had been in and out of the hospital for treatment, the lawsuit said, noting that his family or Detroit police officers would take him there.
When he had an episode, Burks would hallucinate and hear voices that were not really there. "He could respond normally" when he was on medication, the lawsuit said.
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