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Family of man killed by police after throwing rocks sues Phoenix police

It was the night of Sept. 24 when police say Ali Osman was throwing rocks at a police cruiser near 19th Avenue and Tuckey Lane.

PHOENIX — The family of a man shot and killed by Phoenix police officers last month is suing the city's police department for violating his constitutional rights.

That man is 34-year-old Ali Osman. It was the night of Sept. 24 when police say Osman was throwing rocks at a police cruiser near 19th Avenue and Tuckey Lane.  

Officers reportedly asked Osman to stop, but when he didn't, both officers fired their weapons, hitting him. He was taken to the hospital where he died from his wounds.

The family is now seeking $85 million in damages, loss of income and services, medical fees and expenses, funeral and burial expenses, travel expenses, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, lost of enjoyment of life, attorney fees and punitive damages, court paperwork shows. 

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The family claims police violated Osman's 4th Amendment right which protects individuals from the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers.

"Mr. Osman was neither a threat of death nor of great bodily harm to the officers, nor was engaging in conduct that justified the extent of force used by the officers,"  the court document reads. 

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At a press briefing last week held by the family's attorney, Osman's sister Halima Osman said bodycam video of the shooting was too painful to watch. Her daughter Ikran Aden also spoke about the video. 

“They didn't even give him a chance to just stop or at least put his hands up or anything," she said.

In the video, you can also hear police request backup for non-lethal weapons. However, they don't wait and return to the scene. 

"Why call for less than lethal force to show up if you're not going to wait for it?" asked their attorney Quacy Smith. 

12News obtained audio interviews of the two officers involved in the shooting. When asked about this, the officer said there was no time to wait. 

“This guy [is] actively throwing rocks. We knew we had to come back and engage him,” the officer said.

That same officer is also heard saying, "Let's get that mother f****," as he and another officer get back into their cruiser and head toward Osman.

The other officer involved in this shooting, who was hit in the shin with a rock, according to police, told investigators he was in fear for his life. Worried the rocks thrown at him would either kill him or knock him out. Still, the family and attorney do not believe appropriate action by police was taken.

“I cannot find a justifiable reason,” Smith said. 

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