Pardoned Inmate Suing Indiana City, Police
(CBS) -- He was the first man in Indiana history to get a pardon from the governor based on innocence.
Keith Cooper -- now living in south suburban Country Club Hills -- is suing the city of Elkhart, Ind. and the police officers he says railroaded him into prison in the mid-1990s.
"I lost my family. They destroyed me, man, emotionally and physically," says Cooper, 50.
He says he lost a decade in prison for an armed robbery and attempted murder he didn't commit. And then he spent another decade trying to clear his name.
He was pardoned by Indiana's governor.
His attorney Elliot Slosar says the lawsuit against Elkhart and police officers does not specify a dollar amount.
"Based upon what juries give, this case could result in a jury verdict of $20 million. It could be higher, as well," he says.
One of the police officers Cooper is suing is now the police chief in Elkhart.
WBBM has asked Elkhart officials for comment.
If he wins, Cooper says he and his wife would like to pay off debt and perhaps open a daycare center.