Calling the account of two Westminster police officers “impossible and incredible,” the estate of a 27-year-old man shot to death in a 2018 altercation filed a federal lawsuit against the city for failing to train, supervise and discipline its officers.

“This practice has also allowed officers to escape appropriate sanction for their unconstitutional conduct, which has the effect of precipitating more unnecessary violence,” the complaint alleged.

On Sept. 4, 2018, Timmy Henley first drew the attention of police when he climbed on top of a neighbor’s truck, saying he was afraid of the nonexistent dogs that were chasing him. Once officers arrived and talked Henley down, he admitted that he had taken cocaine and may have been hallucinating.

Later that same day, police received another call about Henley breaking into apartments. Henley appeared dazed and confused to witnesses. Although Henley was holding a knife he took from an apartment, the complaint stated, it would have been “conspicuously clear” that he was “scared and was trying to get away from someone.”

Once officers arrived, including one who had responded to the earlier incident and recognized Henley, one officer allegedly raised his firearm, prompting Henley to run away from them. The police opened fire and allegedly shot Henley at least 11 times. The officers subsequently said that Henley had charged at them with the knife.

“Neither defendant officer disputes the fact that there was no knife, or any other weapon, found in possession of Mr. Henley or near Mr. Henley’s body after Mr. Henley was shot,” the complaint states, adding the only knife was inside the apartment Henley exited immediately before encountering the officers.

A Westminster police spokesperson told The Denver Post that the department could not comment on pending litigation. There was no body-worn camera footage of the killing.

The lawsuit charges that officers gave a “false narrative,” which the city repeated in a press release, stating that Henley charged at the officers with the knife. The complaint also lists what it deems as a pattern of excessive force incidents in Westminster, including one involving an 11-year-old boy with autism from 2010 and another involving the killing of a mentally unstable man 10 days before Henley’s death.

By failing to adopt body cameras or train its officers how to de-escalate encounters with people who are emotionally disturbed, Westminster advances “a culture that permits its officers to act with impunity, without regard for the constitutional constraints on their actions, because they know there will be no ramifications,” the lawsuit alleges.

Henley’s estate is asking for damages for loss of life and emotional distress.