A federal judge is hearing testimony in the trial of a wrongful death suit against Las Cruces and a police officer for the 2010 fatal shooting of a man holding a sword.
According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, the suit filed on behalf of 24-year-old Lance Hummell's family seeks more than $14 million in damages.
The suit alleges that police were grossly negligent in shooting Hummell with indifference to his constitutional rights.
Both officers who responded to a call about an irate man with a sword said they feared for their lives when they encountered Hummell.
A witness testified Monday that Hummell didn't have time to act on an officer's command to not move before he was shot, but Officer Horacio River said Hummell had that opportunity.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.