LAKEMORE, Ohio (AP) - The father of an unarmed man shot by two police officers who were told by a supervisor not to fire has sued the officers in federal court saying his son is blind and permanently disabled.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of 31-year-old Matthew Burghardt in connection with a February 2018 police shooting outside Akron. Lakemore officer Ezekiel Ryan and Springfield Township officer Kristofer London are the defendants.
The supervisor’s body camera recorded him telling officers not to shoot when a van with Burghardt in the passenger seat began backing up. The driver also was shot.
Messages seeking comment were left at Lakemore village offices and with Springfield Township’s attorney.
Officers were investigating a break-in. Summit County’s prosecutor’s office ruled the shooting justified.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.
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