Doug Harless was shot and killed last December when London police raided the wrong address. Officials say Harless pointed a gun at the officers before police fired and killed him.
Harless' family is now formally accusing officers of knowingly or recklessly raiding the wrong home and acting outside their jurisdiction. The suit makes a number of allegations, ranging from use of excessive force to trespass and wrongful death.
Advocates for Harless have criticized what they see as a lack of transparency on the part of Kentucky State Police, who continue to investigate the shooting.
That's led the city's new mayor, Tracie Handley, to formally request a status update on the probe, including a timeline for its completion. Handley said in a letter the law enforcement response is leading to fear and mistrust in the community — "emotions that grow stronger with each passing day that the questions from the shooting go unanswered."
Harless advocate Jamie Burns told WYMT she's been frustrated by a lack of action as the community awaits more information in the nearly nine month-old investigation.
"The answers and the accountability, I know that that has to come with the KSP investigation, but I've said for months now that action to make sure it doesn't happen again could be happening now," she told the news outlet.
Responding in a statement, KSP said specific details about the case need to remain private in order to maintain the integrity of the ongoing investigation but assured the public that they will be released when the probe is complete.