Family members of Jeremy McDole, who was shot and killed by Wilmington Police last September, have sued the city.
Filed in Superior Court today (Thursday), the suit claims that McDole – who was paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair bound – was not combative with four officers when they approached him with their guns drawn.
A cell phone video shows McDole eventually reaching toward his waist after a brief standoff, which police say led them to fire. Authorities say the 28-year-old man had a gun and had already shot himself.
The suit claims the shooting was racially motivated and that officers never identified themselves and that they could’ve used pepper spray or rubber bullets to diffuse the situation.
It seeks damages – including funeral expense – from the four unnamed officers, Police Chief Bobby Cummings and the City of Wilmington.
The statuses of ongoing investigations by the city and the state Attorney General’s office aren’t known and neither immediately returned requests for comment.
