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Police sued in stun-gun death

DETROIT, April 21 (UPI) -- The family of an unarmed teenager who died after being hit by a stun-gun are suing Warren, Mich., police in federal court, court documents show.

Robert Mitchell, 16, died April 10 after he jumped from a car at a traffic stop and was chased by police into an abandoned home, said Paul Broschay, the family's lawyer.

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"Even though he was unarmed and outnumbered by the police officers and posed no legitimate threat to them at least one of the officers utilized an electric stun device ... and shocked the deceased repeatedly," the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit alleges.

"The kid did nothing wrong," Broschay said, warning, "More and more people are going to die. They (the police) use Tasers without justification and for convenience."

Warren police have said the officers involved in the case acted appropriately, the Detroit News reported Tuesday.

Mitchell was the second Michigan teenager to die in less than a month after being hit with a Taser. A 15-year-old from Bay City died March 22.

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