The family of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Detroit police officers, following a raid that led to the death of the child.
According to The Detroit News, Officer Joseph Weekley and Robert Rowe are named in the lawsuit, which alleges that the two used unnecessary force, violated Aiyana’s civil rights and tried to cover up the circumstances of her death.
“Defendants Joseph Weekley and Robert Rowe unlawfully seized Aiyana Stanley-Jones, used excessive force against her and unlawfully used deadly force thereby inflicting horrendous personal injuries and ultimately death from which certain damages naturally followed to the members of Aiyana Stanley-Jones family and/or estate,” the lawsuit says.
During the raid, Rowe allegedly threw a flash-bang grenade that hit Aiyana, and police had blindly fired into the duplex.
“In an intentional cover-up conspiracy to hide what had happened, Detroit Special Response Team Officer Joseph Weekley rushed into the house and made physical contact in the front room with Mertilla Jones, Aiyana Stanley-Jones’ grandmother,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit comes after the last of the charges against Weekley was dismissed in criminal court in January.
“We were on stay pending the outcome of the criminal trial,” attorney Geoffrey Fieger said in January. “The stay will now be lifted and we will now proceed with the civil case.”