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LAS CRUCES (AP) — A federal judge is hearing testimony in the trial of a wrongful death suit against Las Cruces and a police officer for the 2010 fatal shooting of a man holding a sword.
According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, the suit filed on behalf of 24-year-old Lance Hummell’s family seeks more than $14 million in damages.
The suit alleges that police were grossly negligent in shooting Hummell with indifference to his constitutional rights.
Both officers who responded to a call about an irate man with a sword said they feared for their lives when they encountered Hummell.
A witness testified Monday that Hummell didn’t have time to act on an officer’s command to not move before he was shot, but Officer Horacio River said Hummell had that opportunity.
