Former Mesquite officer facing excessive force lawsuit

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A man who was shot by a former Mesquite police officer is suing him and the city.

Former officer Derick Wiley was responding to a burglary call when he shot and wounded Lyndo Jones. Jones was unarmed and in his own truck, but he accidentally set off the alarm.

The lawsuit claims the officer used excessive force, made an unlawful arrest and violated Jones’ civil rights. It also states Wiley had been under fire for misuse of force before and that the police chief had seen videos of those previous incidents but failed to discipline him.

"Lyndo did not have a chance, he didn't even have a chance to say hey officer this is my vehicle,” said attorney Daryl Washington.

The lawsuit claims Wiley approached Jones and immediately began shouting and using profanity telling Jones to get out of the vehicle or he'd be shot in the face.

Jones was unarmed and the lawsuit states he complied with the officer's requests.

"He was in the universal surrender position with his hands up, begging to not be shot,” Washington said. “We should not live in a society where someone can't be in his own vehicle and not be shot.”

Wiley shot Jones 3 times. Jones has been in and out of the hospital several times due to complications from his wounds.

"It's almost a miracle this man lived. The shrapnel that exploded in his body, spread across his lungs, that was one of the major complications of his pneumonia,” co-counsel Justin Moore said.

Wiley was fired and later indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on a charge of felony aggravated assault. Wiley's attorney and Mesquite PD had no comment on the civil suit.

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