Family of man killed by police in Little Rock file federal lawsuit

LITTLE ROCK—The family of a man shot and killed by a Little Rock police officer last year filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Thursday, claiming his death could have been prevented and questioning the way the police department handled its investigation of the shooting.

Attorneys for the family of 46-year-old Roy Lee Richards filed a lawsuit against the officer, the city and the chief of police. Richards, who was black, was fatally shot Oct. 25 after police said he pointed a long gun at his uncle. The lawsuit says the weapon was later determined to be an air rifle that was pointed at the ground at the time Richards was shot and killed by Officer Dennis Hutchins, who is white. The lawsuit claims Hutchins did not have approval to use the assault rifle he fired at Richards.

“Roy Richards was executed that early morning by officers who never gave him a warning, who should not have been using an assault rifle and who quite literally hid in the dark, behind bushes and cars, and when they got a free shot, they took it," said Mike Laux, an attorney for the family.

Richards’ uncle, Derrell Underwood, called police to his home because he wanted his nephew removed from his property. Police said they found the two men fighting in the front yard, and they stopped as officers approached. Richards pulled the long gun out of his car and chased his uncle, police said at the time.