JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The mother of a Jacksonville man killed by Jacksonville Sheriff's officers is suing them exactly two years after her son's death.
Daniel Neal was shot and killed February 21, 2021 on the doorsteps of his apartment on Old Kings Road. His mother, Marvette Atkins, is bringing the lawsuit against four JSO officers and the sheriff claiming the officers used excessive force and did not get Neal medical aid promptly.
First Coast News reached out to JSO about the suit but they said they could not comment on pending litigation.
According to the lawsuit, when Neal's brother was arrested three months before Neal's death, officers told the brother they would be coming after his family and began monitoring the path that Neal traveled between his home and his mother's home.
The lawsuit alleges on February 21, law enforcement chased Neal to his apartment doorsteps and shot him, including in the back of the head, then handcuffed him and did not render medical aid promptly.
JSO told First Coast News following the shooting that officers saw a suspect, later identified as Neal, running toward an apartment complex after they got a call about a robbery nearby. Police say Neal had a gun and when he didn't listen to the officer's commands and tried to go into an apartment the officer fired two shots.
First Coast News spoke with Atkins that summer after the police body camera video was released. She says it was Neal's own apartment he was trying to enter.
"I wish he would've just handcuffed my son, put him in the back of the car and took him to jail and took him in as a suspect and questioned him at the station," Atkins said in June 2021. "Not killed him, my God."
The State Attorney's Office conducted a full investigation and found the shooting justified.