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The five children of a black man who died a year ago after he was captured by the police have filed lawsuits against the city of Rochester, New York, and at least six police officers.
Lawyers announced the lawsuit in a US district court on Monday.
The family accuses the accused of homicide and violations of civil rights.
41-year-old Daniel Prude died in March 2020 after police officers held him during a mental emergency and pressed his naked body against the floor until Prude was unable to breathe.
Prude's brother had called the police.
A grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officers in February.
The police initially blamed a drug overdose for Prude's death.
Forensic medicine attributed the death to homicide.
This has to do with suffocation during a capture.
The drug PCP contributed to the death.
Death remained largely hidden for months
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Released emails indicate that Rochester police officers urged the city government not to post footage of the emergency from a police camera right away.
The von Prude family pushed for publication.
The death remained largely hidden from the public for almost six months.
In the lawsuit, the family accuses the city and the police of having violated Prude's rights with the police action and an "attempted cover-up", according to lawyers.