Stephan Long, the man who had murder charges against him related to a road rage incident dismissed by the Denver District Attorney, has now filed a federal lawsuit against the city and two Denver officers, accusing them of racial bias and “selective prosecution.”

From the beginning, Long claimed self-defense after the June 13, 2023, shooting, saying he feared for his life before he pulled the trigger and killed brothers Damon and Blake Lucas on Interstate 25 near 8th Avenue, Denver Gazette media partner 9News reported Friday.

He was arrested moments after the shooting and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. More than a year after the shooting, all charges were dismissed.

According to court records, Long told investigators the two men pulled up next to him on the highway, yelled at him and attacked him. Long told 9NEWS he was scared and couldn’t get away, so he shot the men and kept driving.

The lawsuit claims that the brothers vehicle swerved in front of Long and slammed on the brakes, leaving Long nowhere to go due to stopped traffic.

As he sat there, the lawsuit says, one of the brothers sprinted toward his vehicle and began punching him through his open window. Long said in the lawsuit that he grabbed his gun and the man tried to take it from him. At that point, the lawsuit says, Long shot the man.

After he fired, the lawsuit says, the other brother came running toward his vehicle and reached inside. According to the suit, Long said he drove forward around their vehicle and off the road in an attempt to get away.

The suit says, the man continued to cling to Long’s vehicle and he eventually shot the man, who fell away from the vehicle.

Multiple witnesses, according to the lawsuit, told police they saw the men rush toward Long’s vehicle. None of them said Long was the aggressor, the lawsuit says.

It accuses two officers involved in Long’s arrest of allowing “racial bias” and “stereotyping” to guide their decisions and said there was never any “probable cause” to support first-degree murder charges.

When the last charges were dismissed in August, then Denver DA Beth McCann issued a statement indicating there were strong claims of self-defense.

“After a careful and comprehensive review of all the evidence in the case — which included numerous consultations with members of my office — and after applying Colorado law to the evidence, I have concluded that we could not prove Mr. Long’s guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” the statement from August 2024 said.

  “The evidence establishes a strong and valid self-defense claim pursuant to Colorado law. As a result, we will ask the court to dismiss the remaining charges against Mr. Long. This was an extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decision but, ultimately, in my opinion, the correct one.

Attorneys for Long said Friday that self-defense was “painfully obvious from the very beginning” yet charges were still pursued for more than a year.

“This case is about equal protection under the law. It is no secret that Black individuals are treated worse across almost every domain in the criminal legal system in Denver, ” said attorney Zack Warren.

“We brought this case because everyone deserves equal protection under the law—including the right of Black men to defend themselves when necessary,” Warren said. “We look forward to getting this case in front of a jury as soon as possible.”

Long said he lost his job as a result of his arrest. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and is asking for economic losses and compensatory damages as well as legal fees.

For more on this story, and others, visit The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9NEWS.com.