ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Lawyers representing the Albany man who was shot and paralyzed by police in 2018 are now taking on the city in a civil suit.
According to federal court documents, the city of Albany has been added to a law suit filed on behalf of Ellazar Williams.
The suit claims the plaintiff was shot in the back without legal right or justification, and that the city “had a policy or custom that members of the City of Albany Police Department use excessive force against civilians.”
Williams was paralyzed after being shot in the back by an Albany police detective.
Albany Police officially ruled the shooting as justified saying Williams matched the description of a man who displayed a gun during an argument at a convenience store, and he took off when the detectives tried to stop him. Police claim Williams reached for a dropped knife.
But his supporters reject the idea that Williams was ever a threat to the detectives. They point to security video which clearly showed him running away before being shot in the back.
The law firm of Jones, Hacker, Murphy is representing Williams. They are requesting a jury trial and seeking money damages as the plaintiff was paralyzed.
NEWS10 ABC reached out to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s office and was told there’s no comment on pending lawsuits. We have not hear back, yet, from Williams’s attorneys.