Man accused of killing Indianapolis officer suing city

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A man who's charged in the slaying of an Indianapolis police officer has filed a federal lawsuit against the city seeking $2.3 million in damages for alleged excessive force.

Major Davis II filed the complaint this week, alleging that slain Officer Perry Renn and a second Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer, Nicholas Galico, shot him 11 times at close range while he was unarmed. Davis, 26, claims the injuries to his head and torso left him constrained to a wheelchair and sustaining nerve damage, neurological problems, headaches and digestive problems.

Authorities have said Renn was fatally shot with an AK-47 assault rifle on July 5, 2014, in a gun battle in an alley on the city's north side.

Davis' lawsuit said there's no evidence he ever possessed an AK-47. However, investigators have said the gun was purchased by Davis' mother four years before the shootout and Davis fired at least six shots from it, striking Renn three times. Court records show at least 22 shots came from .40-caliber handguns fired by police.

Davis, who's incarcerated at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City while awaiting trial, also is seeking a court-appointed attorney to represent him in the lawsuit. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday with the Indianapolis Office of Corporation Counsel, which represents the city in legal matters.

Police have said Renn and Galico were responding to a call about a man with a gun and shots being fired. They have said the officers ordered Davis to put down the rifle, which he was pointing toward Renn. Davis fired the first shot, triggering the gun battle, police said.

Davis was moved to the state prison from the Marion County Jail last March because of concerns over advice he may have been receiving from a minister. His court-appointed attorneys asked a judge to move Davis "for safekeeping prior to trial," according to court documents.