The family of a man killed last year by Fresno police officers has filed a lawsuit. Miguel Torrez died after police say he put a knife up to his brother's neck and refused to put it down.
Torrez was a farmworker and was staying in Fresno only to work in the fields. The lawsuit claims he did not understand the commands from officers because he only speaks Spanish.
Nearly a year after his death, flowers and candles sit in front of the home where Torrez died after a day of drinking and domestic problems with his brother, Jose. Police say they pulled up to find Torrez had a large knife up to his brother's neck, threatening to kill him. But the lawsuit claims a far more subdued scene by some witnesses.
Attorney James Segall-Gutierrez said, "They said he never had a knife to his brother's neck and that he was actually 10 to 12 feet away from them when the officers began shooting the deceased."
The lawsuit alleges while Torrez stood in and around the front yard, he wasn't an imminent threat to officers. According to an autopsy report, 15 to 16 gunshot wounds were found on Torrez. A cluster of five to six gunshot wounds were found near the right armpit. [Attorney Tony] Capozzi says the case could come down to physical evidence and firsthand accounts from bystanders.