A civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court is challenging the Mobile Police Department’s fatal shooting of a 37-year-old man two years ago, arguing that officers used unnecessary deadly force against someone who posed no real threat.
The lawsuit, filed last month in the U.S. District Court in Mobile, names three police officers and the City of Mobile as defendants and seeks damages along with attorney fees. It stems from the September 2013 shooting death of Ray Anson Mitchell, who was killed in the backyard of his aunt’s home after a confrontation with officers.
According to the complaint, Mitchell had a history of mental illness that was managed with prescription medication and, despite occasional odd or peculiar behavior, had no history of violence and was capable of living independently. He had previously spent time at the home of his aunt, a police dispatcher, visiting a cousin who had since moved out, a fact the lawsuit says Mitchell struggled to accept.
The suit describes an earlier encounter in May 2013 in which Mitchell left the property without incident after his aunt called police. Four months later, he returned, sat in the backyard and began going through his backpack. His aunt again called police, telling dispatchers Mitchell was not a threat but was mentally ill and needed to leave.
Officers arrived and told the aunt she would need to sign a trespassing complaint against her nephew, according to the lawsuit. When officers then entered the backyard looking for Mitchell, he ran, and a foot chase ensued that ended in the fatal shooting. Police have said Mitchell was shot after wresting a Taser from an officer and firing it at police during the chase; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The lawsuit disputes that account, alleging Mitchell did not pose any threat or harm to officers and that his only conduct was an attempt to get away from them. It further alleges that the department’s internal investigation into the shooting was purely ceremonial rather than a genuine review of officers’ conduct.
The case is among several in recent years that have drawn scrutiny to how Mobile police respond to encounters involving residents with mental illness, and it remains pending in federal court.