A family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against police in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for a man shot and killed by officers.

The lawsuit, filed by the family of 21-year-old Lawrence Graham, claims that officers used excessive and unnecessary force by shooting Graham in the back, resulting gun shot-related blood clot that he died from two months later.

Lawyer for officer Denton Little, Billy West, said Little had a “legal and measured response to the situation” and acted in self-defense.