Ex-NFL player files suit against cop

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SAN DIEGO, June 12 (UPI) -- An off-duty police officer who shot a former San Diego Chargers player was on a personal "crusade" against drunken drivers, say attorneys for Steve Foley.

Lawyers for Foley, a linebacker whose leg wounds have left him unable to play since the Sept. 3, 2006, incident, are alleging in a lawsuit that Coronado Officer Aaron Mansker was guilty of "negligent" and "reckless" behavior, which ultimately culminated in the shooting. A civil trial is expected to begin Monday, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Mansker was a 23-year-old rookie officer when he shot Foley during a confrontation after Mansker followed Foley and a female companion from downtown San Diego. Mansker said he suspected Foley of drunken driving. Foley did plead guilty in May 2007 to misdemeanor drunken driving and his companion was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for driving the car at Mansker during the confrontation in which it was determined that Mansker fired in self defense.

Attorneys for Foley seek to include in the trial evidence about Mansker's father being killed by a drunken driver and two previous alleged incidents in which Mansker, again off-duty, followed motorists he suspected of driving under the influence, the Union-Tribune reported.