Lawsuit Filed by Family of Man Killed by Police Seeks Better Training

The family of a Jacksonville man who police officers shot and killed in 2014 recently filed a lawsuit that, among other things, asks for officers to receive better training for handling people who have mental illnesses.

Defendants in the lawsuit include the city of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Chief of Police Tommy Thompson, Officer Dale Edwards and the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission.

Edwards shot the victim, 24-year-old David McBrayer, on November 11, 2014, after arriving to the scene on reports of a man shooting out car windows with a BB gun. The officer repeatedly requested that McBrayer drop a box cutter he was holding. When he failed to do so, police shot him five times. According to McBrayer’s father, officers were aware he had a mental illness before the shooting, but did not take steps outlined through the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The McBrayer family filed a lawsuit based on wrongful death, failure to train officers in how to deal with mentally ill citizens, use of excessive and brutal force, violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and violation of the ADA.

Seeking damages after a wrongful death

A wrongful death lawsuit works in much the same way as a personal injury claim. You must be able to prove negligence on the part of the defendant for that party to be liable for the death of the person in question.

To learn more about your options if your family is dealing with the death of a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, contact a skilled wrongful death attorney in Jacksonville, Florida.

Attorney Mark Link contributed to this blog post.