Family Of Slain Stockton Bank Hostage Files Lawsuit Against City Of Stockton, Police
STOCKTON (CBS13/AP) - The family of Misty Holt-Singh, the Stockton woman who was shot and killed in a shootout after being kidnapped at a Bank of the West in July 2014, has filed a lawsuit.
Stockton police officers used unreasonable force when they fired more than 600 times at the vehicle containing the suspects and hostage Misty Holt-Singh, the lawsuit against the police department and city claims.
Holt-Singh, 41, was struck by 10 of the bullets officers fired in the July 2014 shootout. Police have said she was used as a human shield by the sole surviving suspect.
RELATED: Read entire lawsuit
The suit by Holt-Singh's husband, Paul Singh, and their two kids, Paul Singh Jr. and Mia Singh, seeks unspecified damages. It accuses officers of violating Holt-Singh's civil rights and committing battery. Stockton city officials did not immediately return calls and emails for comment Tuesday.
The lawsuit comes a day after the release of a report commissioned by the Stockton police department that found the 600 shots police fired at the end of the bank robbery were excessive and unnecessary, with some officers only firing their weapons because other officers were shooting.
"You don't create this chaos because ultimately bad things happen," Gregory Bentley, an attorney for the Singh family, said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. He cited the Police Foundation report, saying it bolstered the family's case. "They could not overcome their failures at the expense of the life of Misty."
RELATED: Watch full press conference
Paul Singh made a brief statement, saying perhaps the foundation report would lead to a resolution.
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