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Unredacted video footage recorded by state police and released last November by national outlets captured 19-year-old Christian Hall with his hands up in the air when troopers opened fire on the Route 33 overpass on Dec. 30, 2020, Daily Voice previously reported.
The lawsuit names the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, State Police Superintendent Robert Evanchick as well as four troopers – Charles S. Phelps, Ian D. MacMillan, and two unidentified "John Does."
The suit claims that authorities tried to "cover up the wrongdoing" in the video, which shows Hall holding a BB gun in the air rather than a purported firearm at police. State police maintained that Hall was refusing to drop his weapon after repeated demands, then pointed it toward officers.
The 30-minute video initially released by the DA's office months earlier blurred Hall's final moments.
Despite the fact that Hall was suffering from a mental health emergency, he tried to surrender, the family's high-profile attorneys Ben Crump and Devon Jacob said in a statement.
They also allege the Monroe County District Attorney's Office "published a misleading PowerPoint presentation in an attempt to bolster PSP’s false claims, and cleared the Trooper of wrongdoing," a statement reads.
According to Michael Mancuso, Monroe County's first assistant district attorney, "the use of deadly force was justified due to Hall's actions under the circumstances."
“A tragic situation, but a situation that was fueled by Hall’s mental state and his desire to end his life," he previously told LehighValleyLive.
"When Christian’s parents served a subpoena on the Commissioner of PSP to obtain the unredacted mobile video recordings, PSP tried unsuccessfully to force them to enter into a confidentiality agreement before releasing the video. The video definitively establishes that Christian’s homicide was not lawful," the attorneys said.
The suit asks for unspecified monetary damages.
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