Man sues Detroit police for being shot at by off-duty officers

DETROIT (WJBK) - Three off-duty Detroit police officers are accused of using excessive force and shooting an unarmed man firing more than a dozen shots.

Now that man is suing the Detroit Police Department. Demar Parker said he had no choice but to speak out now. It has been more than a year and no charges have been filed, the internal investigation continues and the officers are still on the job.

"Just to get away with my life and the concern of my child," he said. "All of that was going through my mind."

It was August 14, 2015 - Demar Parker says he went to visit his daughter and his ex -girlfriend's house when he noticed through the window her half-brother simulating sex on his daughter.

Upset, he yelled through the door to his ex to do something about it. She refused. As Demar says he called her father to diffuse the situation. His ex apparently made a call of her own. All of a sudden Demar says a man pulled up - the father of her son - who also happens to be an off-duty Detroit police officer.

"I see him, he has a gun, like a clip of a gun was sticking out of his pocket," Parker recalled. "I said 'You brought a gun over here what are you over here for.' As I say that to him two other guys are walking up."

FOX 2 is told two other off-duty police officers show up to the house near Curtis and Mendota in Detroit and start to surround Demar.

Worried and unarmed and in the dark of night, Parker says he made sure to step under the street light.

"I was in fear for my life they had guns," he said.

Parker claims they exchanged words, but when they approached he took off running to his car. As he turned around to drive away, one of the three off-duty police officer started shooting at him.

"I'm holding my head down, I'm driving the car and he is shooting roughly over 15 times," Parker said. "It is just bullets flying. I get away, but in the midst of that impact, I wound up getting a gunshot wound to the leg

Parker has photos of the side of his car riddled with bullet holes. He says he made it about a mile away and called his mother who rushed him to the hospital.

"It's not just the momentary lack of judgment or that there was some extenuating circumstance," said attorney Sarah Prescott. "This is a set of people that do not care about human life."

Civil rights attorney Sarah Prescott has since filed a federal lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department on behalf of Demar Parker claiming officers abused their power using their department issued weapons and excessive force.

"They don't even follow him," Prescott said. "Is he dangerous are they now going to come back and say he was dangerous doing terrible things - really? Then why did you spend the last year doing nothing about it."

To date no charges have been filed against Parker - yet none of the officers was suspended.

In response Detroit police say they handed over their case to the Wayne County Prosecutors Office, which denied felonious assault warrants against the officer and Parker. There is still an internal investigation, but in the meantime the officers are still on the job.

Parker says he is speaking out now before it happens to someone else.

"What if, I could be Trayvon Martin, or  anybody, any of those guys on the news," Parker said. "You never know what happens after a guy passed away because they can't tell their story but I can tell my story."

The question they have is, if Parker did anything wrong why was he not charged. According to a DPD spokesperson, as Parker was leaving that night the officers claim he tried to hit them with his car - but no charges were ever filed. He claims he was just trying to drive away.