Suspect shot by CPD officer files lawsuit | News

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19)- A suspect who was shot by a Cincinnati Police Officer last year has filed a lawsuit against the officer.

Phillip Williams Jr. was shot by Officer Phillip Threatt in Oakley in May of 2011.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 3 in U.S. District Court, claims that Williams was deprived of his rights and that police used excessive force and violated due process. Williams is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, his costs and expenses and a trial by jury [click to view the lawsuit (.pdf)].

Officer Phillip Threatt and Officer Thomas Watson went to Williams' mother's home on May 30, looking for Williams on a warrant in Newport, Ky. for drug possession. The officers were told Williams could be armed, and they found him hiding in his mother's closet.

Threatt fired a shot at Williams that grazed his left wrist.

Col. James Whalen, interim police chief at the time of the shooting, said that Williams was unarmed and he could not find a threat that would have warranted the use of a firearm.

Related Stories:

• Police: Suspect in officer-involved shooting was unarmed
• Suspect in custody; officers on administrative leave after Oakley shooting

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