Slain man's family sues Baltimore officer

BALTIMORE – Relatives of an unarmed man shot dead outside a nightclub last summer have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Baltimore police officer.

Officer Gahiji Tshamba (juh-HAHJ-ee t-SHAHM-bay) has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tyrone Brown. The suit names Tshamba, his supervisors, Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, Baltimore's mayor and city council and the state of Maryland.

The lawsuit says Brown had his hands in the air before Tshamba shot him a dozen times. The lawsuit seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages on each of several counts, including wrongful death and civil rights violations.

Tshamba's lawyer, Adam Sean Cohen, declined comment along with police chief counsel Mark Grimes.