Family sues LPD, LCG, 3 officers over 'wrongful use of force' in death of Kaci Cyprian
The suit, which was filed Aug. 1 in the 15th Judicial District Court, asks for an unspecified sum in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- The family of Kaci Cyprian, the 19-month-old girl killed in the crossfire of a shootout in Lafayette last August, is suing the Lafayette Police Department and Lafayette Consolidated Government for alleged "unreasonable and wrongful use of force" in the incident.
The suit, which was filed Aug. 1 in the 15th Judicial District Court, asks for an unspecified sum in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
The plaintiffs in the suit are Jowanna Washington and Trenton Cyprian, the parents of Kaci Cyprian and Kaisyn Cyprian. Kaisyn, who was 4 years old at the time of the shooting, was also hit by gunfire in the incident.
LPD, LCG, Hali Bradford, Raynard Ford and Alan Cortez are named as defendants in the suit. The three individuals are the LPD officers involved in the shooting. Bradford and Ford were both wounded in the shooting, as were the two Cyprian children, John M. Nicholas, the suspect in the shooting, and Mary Prejean, who was in the house where the shooting occurred.
The suit alleges the officers' "negligent and reckless actions" were responsible for Kaci Cyprian's death.
"At no time did the Lafayette Police department try to deescalate the situation," the suit reads, alleging a violation of department policy.
The suit claims LPD and LCG were responsible for not properly training the officers.
"Lafayette Police Department had a custom or policy of failing to properly train, instruct, and/or supervise its police officers, including officers Bradford, Ford and Cortez, as to the proper circumstances under which to draw a firearm and/or use deadly force, or to as to the proper procedures for exhausting all reasonable alternatives before using deadly force," the suit reads.
"As a direct and proximate result of Officer Bradford, Officer Ford and Officer Cortez's conduct, Kaci Cyprian lost her life."
Read the suit in its entirety below.
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