Family of teen killed by Pima County deputy demanding $35 million for wrongful death

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – The family of a 19-year-old killed by a Pima County Sheriff deputy has filed a notice of claim, expressing their intent to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Pima County Attorney’s Office decided there were no criminal charges merited in the case against the deputy. But in documents given to us by the Lewis family, they say unreasonable deadly force was used on an unarmed young man.

“We must dig deeper, and we must look at more information and find out the truth of what occurred, what drove the action, and whether or not it was warranted,” says Keith Lewis, Uncle of Alex.

The Lewis family continues to relive January 20th, 2021.

That’s when 19-year-old Bradley “Alex” Lewis was identified as a burglary suspect and shot and killed by a Pima County deputy. The deputy saw an unknown object in Alex’s hand when he shot.

It was later identified as a key fob, and the deputy’s actions were deemed justified.

“We can’t bring criminal justice at this point, but I do believe that they need to understand that what they did was not acceptable, and it can never happen again,” says Lewis.

The family has now issued a notice of claim to file a $35 million lawsuit against Pima County, and those involved in the case.

The family will be suing in grounds of use of excessive force, substantive due process, failure to render aid, Monell liability, wrongful death, emotional distress and damage to property, among other things.

They say they would give every penny and more to bring Alex back, but want this case to be a catalyst for change.

“You don’t recuperate from this and we will do everything in our power to see that justice is served.”

KOLD did reach out to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and he tells us it would be inappropriate to comment on pending litigation.

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