Black Man Plans To Sue Phoenix Police After An Officer Shot Him In The Back

A 21-year-old Black man plans to file a lawsuit against the police department in Phoenix after he was shot and critically wounded by an officer in August.

On Jan. 12, lawyers for Devin Thompson sent a notice of a claim to the city of Phoenix, saying that Thompson suffered “long-term life threatening physical damage to his back, spine, chest, ribs, lungs, and legs” and lost his job as a result of the shooting.

Notices of a claim typically precede the filing of a lawsuit. The claim filed last week indicates that Thompson and his attorneys intend to seek $50 million from the city.

The officer who shot Thompson has not been publicly identified but is referred to in the notice as “Officer Cottrell.”

According to police, on Aug. 1, two Phoenix officers approached Thompson and a friend as they sat on a landscaping wall near a stop sign. Police allege that Thompson brandished a weapon and pointed it at officers as he ran away.

Body camera footage from the incident shows Thompson running with an object in his hand that appears to be a phone. But he also appears to drop a handgun that’s been modified with green tape. Police say the item Thompson dropped was a Glock. Thompson’s attorneys maintain he never pointed the item in his hand at police. In the footage, an officer leaves the police vehicle and shoots Thompson within seconds.

After Thompson was released from the hospital, officers charged him with two counts of prohibited weapons, two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

“This is literally happening all over the country,” Sandra Slaton, an attorney representing Thompson, told HuffPost. “Young Black men are being gunned down.”

Phoenix police did not comment on the claim