SAN ANTONIO – The family of a San Antonio teenager who was accidentally shot and killed last week has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the San Antonio police officer who fired the shot, federal court records confirmed Thursday.
Charles Roundtree, 18, died Oct. 17 after a bullet fired by the officer passed through a man who police said was trying to pull out a gun from his waistband and struck Roundtree as he sat inside a home in the 200 block of Roberts Street.
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The officer, identified as Steve Casanova, had been responding to the home for an assault call.
The 23-year-old suspect with the gun was identified Thursday as Davante Snowden, who has been charged with felony gun possession.
According to the lawsuit, Casanova opened the home's front door around 1 a.m. and shined a bright light inside without identifying himself as a San Antonio police officer, then fired at Roundtree, Snowden and a woman as they attempted to move to the back of the house.
The suit states that Casanova did not provide medical attention to Roundtree after he was shot in the chest.
The suit contradicts official San Antonio Police Department accounts of the shooting and claims that Snowden was not armed during the fatal incident.
Casanova, a five-year veteran of SAPD, was placed on administrative duty following the shooting as part of the department's standard protocol.
The lawsuit states that SAPD has a "longstanding record" of not providing its officers with adequate training, supervision or discipline.
SAPD officials have described the home where the shooting took place as a "known drug house."
Officers had responded to the home more than 50 times since Jan. 1, SAPD Chief William McManus said last week.