EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Four parents have filed civil rights lawsuits against police in El Paso, Texas, after an officer was caught on video pointing a gun at a group of children .
An attorney for the parents announced the filing of the two lawsuits Tuesday. Television station KVIA reports both suits accuse Officer Jose Rivas and four other officers of using excessive force and violating the civil rights of the eight children in the July 5 confrontation and another incident in late 2016.
An El Paso Police Department internal investigation cleared Rivas of any wrongdoing.
El Paso police union president Ron Martin defended Rivas' contention that he perceived a threat when he drew his weapon. The families' attorney, Solomon Radner, called that preposterous.
___
Information from: KVIA-TV, http://www.kvia.com
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
