The family of a man shot and killed by a West Hartford police officer last year has filed a lawsuit against the officer, the town and police department.
Mike Alexander-Garcia, 34, was unarmed and the use of deadly force was unnecessary, attorneys and his family members say.
Police say Alexander-Garcia was in a stolen car and tried to escape the authorities in August 2023.
Alexander-Garcia's relatives say instead of siccing a police dog and opening fire, the officer should have tried to de-escalate the situation.
Calls for accountability, as investigation continues
The family is seeking 鈥渏ustice and accountability,鈥� their attorneys say.
The lawsuit alleges the officer, Andrew Teeter, was 鈥渘egligent, reckless and intentional in his killing of Alexander-Garcia,鈥� attorneys said. 鈥淭he complaint also brings claims under the Police Accountability Act, alleging the killing of Alexander-Garcia violated his constitutional rights.鈥�
The family is also calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to have its civil rights division conduct an investigation.
鈥淭o the officer who took my son鈥檚 life, you can鈥檛 comprehend the pain and loss you have inflicted on our family,鈥� his mother, Jacqueline Garcia, said in a statement. 鈥淚 hope that through this tragedy there can be reflection and change so that no other family endures the heartache we are experiencing.鈥�
The shooting remains under investigation by the state inspector general鈥檚 office.
West Hartford鈥檚 legal representatives issued a statement to media outlets in response to the lawsuit.
鈥淲est Hartford is committed to police accountability and transparency,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淎 lawsuit at this stage contains unproven allegations, and it is important to note that this matter is still under investigation by the Office of Inspector General, the independent state office responsible for reviewing the deadly use of force by police. The Inspector General is tasked with conducting a thorough and impartial review of the facts, and we await the issuance of a final report.鈥�
Teeter did not return an email to the Associated Press seeking comment.
Police video depicts the scene
Last August, West Hartford police were alerted that a stolen Hyundai Elantra had been spotted near a mall. Officers tried to stop the Elantra but it kept going and hit two cars, according to the inspector general鈥檚 preliminary report. The Hyundai became disabled. Two men got out and ran.
One of the men was captured, but the second, Alexander-Garcia, ran away and tried unsuccessfully to carjack two vehicles, authorities said.
Alexander-Garcia ran to an auto shop and got into a sport utility vehicle parked in a service bay.
Officer Andrew Teeter arrived moments later. Body-camera footage shows Teeter鈥檚 putting his police dog, into the SUV through the passenger-side window. Teeter opens the vehicle鈥檚 door and follows.
The video shows the dog biting Alexander-Garcia as he sits behind the steering wheel yelling 鈥淗elp me!鈥� and 鈥淥fficer, please!鈥�
Footage from other cameras shows the SUV back out of the garage, then turn, glance off a parked police cruiser and a tree, and start driving.
Teeter yells 鈥淒on鈥檛 do it!鈥� and 鈥淚鈥檓 going to shoot you!鈥� Then he fires several shots into Alexander-Garcia鈥檚 back, roughly 15 seconds after the SUV began to move.
The SUV crashed into a utility pole across the street, according to the inspector general鈥檚 preliminary report issued shortly after the shooting.
The lawsuit states that Teeter did not issue clear commands to Alexander-Garcia and that he was never told he was under arrest. The lawsuit states that Teeter did not have justification to open fire. The lawsuit also states that Teeter should have stopped pursuing Alexander-Garcia because 鈥渢he risk to the public and the officer outweighed the danger to the community.鈥�
海角换妻's Matt Dwyer and the Associated Press contributed to this report.