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Family Of Jeremy Southern Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Sacramento Police Department

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento Police Department is facing a new lawsuit in the deadly shooting of a man near Sacramento State in July. The family of Jeremy Southern filed a civil rights lawsuit claiming officers "executed" him.

Jeremy Southern
Jeremy Southern moments before being shot by police.

Attorneys for Southern's family say police violated their own policies by shooting the 22-year-old rather than continuing to try and de-escalate the situation.

Back in July, Sacramento police released body camera footage of the encounter.

WATCH: Police Release Body Cam Footage Of Fatal Shooting Near Sac State That Killed Jeremy Southern

Southern was believed to be involved in a shooting at the Crossings Apartment Complex a week prior to the incident, police said. Officers confronted him at the apartment complex, saying he matched the suspect description.

After the 22-year-old parolee pulled out a gun, telling officers "I'm not going back," he was shot and knocked to the ground. About three minutes after he fell to the ground, an officer shot him again, after Southern appeared to crawl toward the gun.

The family's attorney Adante Pointer said officers played the role of judge, jury and executioner.

"These are highly trained officers. We expect more. But instead of doing the things that they're trained to do, an officer fired a kill shot into Jeremy's back as he lay there," Pointer said.

Police say they recovered a gun with nine rounds in it after the shooting.

CBS13 reached out to Sacramento police Tuesday, but the department is not commenting on the lawsuit tonight.

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