"My son was a good kid, a good guy," Valerie Rivera said at a press conference Wednesday. "I'm never going to be able to get him back. But I can stand here today and fight for him. I can speak. Justice needs to be served."
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Erick Rivera was walking along North Wilmington Boulevard about 9 p.m. when two Los Angeles Police Department officers, investigating a report of a man with a gun, approached him.
Minutes into the encounter, shots were fired. An autopsy report showed Rivera was struck seven times. But he was also struck by an LAPD patrol car and pinned against a gate.
A lawyer for Rivera's family released an animated simulation that shows what they believe happened.
"The LAPD was hiding the fact that the car was out of control, that they didn't put it in park, that the shooting resulted only because of their malfeasance or negligence," said attorney Arnoldo Casillas.
No firearm was recovered at the scene.
Rivera's parents filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the City of Los Angeles, the LAPD, and Arturo Urrutia and Daniel Ramirez -- the two officers who allegedly opened fire.
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The lawsuit outlines eight other LAPD incidents and asserts that the police department's officers have a propensity to use excessive deadly force.
"This, at the very least, is a negligent homicide," Casillas said.
Phillip Malik insisted that Rivera, his son, "did nothing wrong."
"The police approached him in a tactical fashion, did not put their vehicle in park, and they committed a murder that day," Malik said.
Rivera's family called for L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey to prosecute the officers involved in the shooting.
The DA's office and the LAPD did not respond to ABC7's requests for comment.