Mother files lawsuit after former Concord officer kills son

CONCORD, N.C. (WBTV) - The mother of a man killed by a former Concord police officer back in February is suing the former officer and the City of Concord, alleging excessive use of violence, assault and battery, and wrongful death.

She claims her son, Brandon Combs, was wrongfully killed and wants to hold the department and the former officer accountable.

“An unarmed man not posing a threat or harm or danger to this officer and the officer’s reason for shooting and killing him and taking the son and the father away from his family is because he tried to take his car,” said attorney Chance Lynch.

“Police officers cannot be judge, jury and executioner. That’s why we have a criminal justice system. That’s why we have the rule of law,” attorney Harry Daniels said.

Virginia Tayara joined her attorneys and others at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Charlotte to announce a wrongful death lawsuit against the Concord Police Department and former officer Timothy Larson.

“It’s not about money, it’s about justice. It’s about this man who posted no imminent threat or harm and he was murdered by someone who took and oath to protect and to serve him,” Lynch added.

Police say Combs was attempting to steal a car from a dealership back in February. Once Larson arrived, authorities say he asked Combs to stop but he refused.

That’s when police say the two got involved in a fight. Combs was able to get into Larson’s police car. Larson then shot Combs, who later died at the hospital.

Larson was fired by the department in June for making “untruthful” statements about the incident during his interview with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Related: Concord Police fires officer that shot and killed burglary suspect in February

The family’s lawyers were shown video of the confrontation. Tayara says it shows Larson shooting her son five times before reporting the shots fired call and then shooting Combs again after.

She also claims no physical altercation could be seen in the video.

Last week, an autopsy report determined Combs’ death was a homicide.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and requests a trial by jury. The family and the legal team want the Cabarrus District Attorney’s Office to file charges against Larson.

The City of Concord provided WBTV with this statement: We are aware of the lawsuit and we understand people want to know more about the officer and his actions on February 13, but as we said before, in order to protect the integrity of the pending independent review by the SBI and the District Attorney’s office, we will not be making further comment until the DA has announced her decision.

Check back with WBTV for more following the announcement.

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