APPLETON, Wis. (AP) - The family of the man killed by Appleton police during an incident at a downtown bar three years ago has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the officer who fired the fatal shot.
Jimmie Sanders was fatally shot by Lt. Jay Steinke at Jack’s Apple Pub on May 21, 2017, after Steinke responded to the bar for a report of a shot fired inside.
Steinke shot and wounded the man who fired the gunshot that brought police to the bar. But, he also fatally shot Sanders, a bystander who was not involved in the incident. Steinke wasn’t charged in the shooting.
Sanders’ family, in the lawsuit, said Sanders “committed no crime” and was “not acting suspiciously,” and posed “no threat to anyone” when he was killed.
The civil lawsuit does not make specific claims for damages, WLUK-TV reported.
The lawsuit names Sanders’ estate as the plaintiff with his mother as the administrator of the estate.
Steinke has since retired from the Appleton Police Department. He did not immediately return a call for comment.
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