Illinois Man's Family Suing St. Paul, Officers In Fatal Shooting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – The family of a man shot and killed by St. Paul police announced Thursday a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and the officers.

Cordale Handy, 29, was from Illinois.

Police shot and killed him on March 15. They were responding to a domestic incident and say Handy pointed a gun at officers before they opened fire.

Handy's family says the shooting was unjustified.

"My child did not deserve to die in that execution style manner," said Kimberly Handy-Jones.

Kimberly Handy Jones says her son, Cordale Handy, was not a threat to officers the day they shot and killed him in St. Paul. She wants a full investigation into what happened and justice for her son.

"Here in St. Paul the narrative that is put out of the police and in this town by the BCA is not consistent with the facts. We have contradictory and inconsistent statements that are very different from what the BCA has said," said family attorney Andrew Stroth.

The federal civil rights lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as the implementation of new policies and practices to govern the hiring, training, disciplining and supervision of St. Paul police.

"In the lawsuit if you read the lawsuit there is a Mannel claim. A Mannel claim is a pattern and practice. There is a code of silence and there is excessive force that is used on a regular basis by police officers," Stroth said.

Handy-Jones says she also wants change in the way police interact with the people they are hired to protect and serve.

"I would like to see reform. I would like to see the police get better training. They need a battery of psychological testing because how do we know what their frame of mind is when they get up in the morning? We don't, there needs to be change because without change, this pattern will continue with our young black men," Handy-Jones said.

The suit also alleges that the officers violated Handy's constitutional rights to due process and his right against unreasonable seizure.

St. Paul police declined to comment, citing pending litigation, which is standard for the department.