According to a St. Louis personal injury attorney, a wrongful death lawsuit will soon be filed against at least one police officer and the St. Louis Police Department. The suit, which will be filed in federal court in St. Louis, is on behalf of the victim's one-year-old daughter.

The wrongful death suit stems from a December incident in which a 24-year-old man was shot by police. According to the personal injury attorney who is representing the victim's daughter, the victim was suspected of drug dealing when his car crashed into a sport-utility vehicle driven by the police officer, setting in motion the chain of events that ended with the shooting death of the victim.

The attorney told local media that he has evidence, including audio and video recordings from the vehicle's "On Star" system which was automatically activated at the time of the collision. In addition, the attorney said, a third party witness who was listening to the incident on a cell phone confirms that the shooting was not justified.

The police officer who filed the fatal shot, who has not been named by the police department, "was identified as somebody who did not have the personality, characteristics and traits that were consistent with being a law enforcement officer." However, the department hired him regardless of those personal characteristics.

The St. Louis Police Department has reportedly asked the FBI to review the shooting, but it has not made any additional public comment on the fatal incident. It is not yet known whether the judge presiding over the wrongful death lawsuit will wait until the FBI report is concluded to proceed with the case.

Source: KTVI, "Wrongful Death Lawsuit To Be Filed Against St. Louis Police Department," Feb. 4, 2012