The family of Pharrell Williams has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Virginia Beach and the police officer who fatally shot Donovon Lynch, his cousin.
The New York Daily News reported that the father of Donovon Lynch had filed a $50 million lawsuit for the death of his 25-year-old son.
NewsOnyx affiliate Sister2Sister reported in March that Lynch and Bad Girls Club star Deshayla Harris were killed after officers claimed that Lynch was brandishing a weapon. Harris was killed by a stray bullet.
The officer, now identified as Solomon Simmons, is accused in the wrongful death filing of using excessive force and acting with gross negligence during the fatal incident earlier this year. Simmons is also accused of failing to identify himself or giving a warning before he fired his weapon and not rendering aid.
Court documents also indicated that Simmons responded to a different incident when he crossed paths with Lynch, whom he had prior dealings with, so he could not have known that Lynch was not the suspect in question.
Three other suspects, Ahmon Jahree Adams, Nyquez Tyyon Baker, and Devon Maurice Dorsey Jr., in the shooting that Simmons was originally called to were taken into custody.
Pharrell shared news of his cousin’s death in a since-deleted social media post, and at his memorial in April, he called for a federal investigation of the shooting.
Simmons was placed on administrative leave while the investigation took place. Virginia Beach residents were outraged because the officer’s bodycam was not activated at the time of the shooting. Further, the police department declined to identify Simmons throughout the investigation.
No link has publicly been released between the original shooting and Lynch’s shooting.
The City of Virginia Beach is also named in the lawsuit for its failure to properly train its officers in the use of deadly force and other techniques that the plaintiff believes could have spared Donovon Lynch’s life.
There has been no response from Virginia Beach about the filing.
