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Family of man killed by undercover CMPD officer suing city

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The district attorney cleared an undercover Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer in a deadly shooting on a busy road in east Charlotte, but the family of the man who died just sued the city.

The family's attorney said the officer have handled the situation differently.

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Police are standing by the officer, while the family is asking if the officer turned a minor situation into a major one and forced their loved one to pay the ultimate price.

Josue Javier Diaz was a husband and a father, and his family believes his life was taken prematurely due to the actions of an undercover Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer.

The 28-year-old man was killed in January 2017 along Albemarle Road.

Investigators said Diaz got into a minor accident with the officer and took off. The officer pursued him.

After a brief confrontation, Diaz was shot.

Investigators said Diaz fired the first shot. He was armed, and a .22-caliber round was found in the officer's undercover car.

"They did say there was a bullet hole in the police vehicle matching a 22 (caliber gun). Mr. Diaz had a 22 (caliber gun). They could not say whether it was from the same gun,” said attorney Alex Heroy, who represents the Diaz family.

The question remains if Diaz was aware he was dealing a police officer because the officer was dressed in plainclothes.

"They are placed in more dangerous situations more routinely,” said Joseph Kuhns, a local police expert, said of undercover officer. “On the other hand, they are more effectively trained and deliberate and careful about how they approach those situations."

Prosecutors cleared the officer in the case and said his actions were justified.

Heroy said the officer never identified himself and should not have chased Diaz.

"I think CMPD has the directives that undercovers can't pursue people for this very reason, to prevent this kind of situation,” Heroy said.

Channel 9 asked the city of Charlotte about the lawsuit and it declined to comment. The city has 60 days to answer in court.

Channel 9 didn’t find that any previous arrests for Diaz in this state, but prosecutors said he was in a gang.

Those gang ties were one of the reasons the officer was never publicly identified.

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