JONESBORO — A man is suing a northeast Arkansas city and its police department, saying that an officer escalated a situation with the man's son, resulting in his death.
Chris Finley filed the lawsuit March 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Its defendants include the Jonesboro Police Department, the city and officer Heath Loggains.
The Jonesboro Sun reported that 31-year-old Christopher Grant Finley was fatally shot inside his home April 14, 2015, after police received a complaint that he was yelling and holding a baseball bat in his yard.
Loggains said he fired shots after Finley struck his arm with a machete. Chris Finley has said his son suffered from mental illnesses, including paranoid schizophrenia.
The lawsuit accuses the city of not properly training officers.