Family of Man Shot Dead by Police File $10m Lawsuit, Partner Says it is a “Perfect” Crime

The family of a man shot dead by police in Long Beach have filed a $10 million civil rights lawsuit.

Jason Conoscenti was killed as he ran away from officers. He was suspected of committing a robbery, but had no weapon other than scissors and a stick. Video taken of the incident show him running apparantly empty-handed before the shots were fired.

Attorney Dale Galipo filed the federal suit in downtown Los Angeles on behalf of the family, who also want a criminal charges to be filed against the officers responsible.

"If you don't have criminal prosecution in case where  a video tape shows person's hands visible with nothing in their hands,  like in the Beaird case, in the Conoscenti case, the question for many people is, what would it take?" Galipo said.

Jory Adamson, who had been Conoscenti’s partner for five years,  also wants to see the police prosecuted for what he describes as a “perfect” crime.

However he is not holding out much hope following grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.

"They're going to get away with it. Missouri one grand jury, then New York grand jury, no indictment, no indictment, no indictment," Adamson said.

"So it's like, it’s a perfect way to kill someone to me :35 you just get away with it. Everybody's a bad guy except for them," he added.

Conoscenti led Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies on a pursuit into Long Beach on April 27 after he allegedly assaulted a deputy in Compton, according to police.

The end of the pursuit was caught on cellphone video, which shows Conoscenti emerging from a white SUV and running down the stairs leading to the beach near Ocean Boulevard and 14th Place before being shot and killed.

Conoscenti's family believes the video proves he was not reaching for his waistband as Long Beach Police Department claim he was doing just before the shots were fired.

Before he was shot, deputies had tried to subdue him using a non-lethal bean-bag round.  Long Beach Police officers stationed nearby heard the sound of the stun bags, which sound similar to gunshots, and thought Conoscenti had shot at the deputies, according to a police department statement released after the shooting.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office said Conoscenti's case is being reviewed by prosecutors, and added officers who have been criminally prosecuted for use of force in the past.

However in LA County there has only been one officer prosecuted for an officer-involved shooting, and that was 14 year ago.

NBC4's I-Team recently tallied up the number of such incidents in the greater los angeles area, finding there had been 2.5 shootings per week since 2009.