The city of El Paso will not be dismissed from a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed in an officer-involved shooting, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Philip R. Martinez, who is presiding over the case, on Friday denied the city’s motion to be dismissed from the civil lawsuit, ruling that the allegations made in the lawsuit, while not yet been proven to be facts, are legally sufficient to move forward with the case.

The lawsuit was filed April 28 by Celia Sanchez and Oscar Salas, the parents of Erik Emmanuel Salas Sanchez, 22, who was fatally shot by El Paso Police Department Officer Mando Kenneth Gomez on April 29, 2015.

More:Federal judge denies case dismissals for police officers in fatal shooting civil lawsuit

Salas Sanchez was shot at his home in the 300 block of Jesuit Drive after police responded to a report by a neighbor that Salas Sanchez had illegally entered her home.

By the time officers arrived, Salas Sanchez already had left the neighbor’s house and had gone back to his house.

Officers then entered Salas Sanchez’s home and shot him in the back, according to court records.

According to a Police Department custodial death report, Salas Sanchez allegedly had charged at an officer, who fired his Taser, but it failed to make full contact.

The report claims that Salas Sanchez "then stopped, turned his attention to another officer and charged him. This officer fired his service weapon striking (Salas) multiple times."

An autopsy report filed by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office seems to contradict the officers' claims. The report states that Salas Sanchez was shot twice in the back and once in a buttock.

El Paso police officers Gomez, Alberto Rivera and Pamela Smith also are named in the lawsuit.

More: Officer indicted in 2015 death of man shot in back

Gomez was indicted by a state grand jury on Feb. 28 on one count of manslaughter in connection with Salas Sanchez’s death. A status hearing is set for Nov. 2 before 120th District Court Judge Maria Salas-Mendoza.

The lawsuit claims that the officers violated Salas Sanchez’s constitutional rights when they entered his home without a warrant or probable cause and under no exigent circumstances.

It also claims that the city of El Paso has failed to act on a troubling pattern by police officers of using excessive force against people with signs of mental illness. The city also failed to train police officers on dealing with situations involving mental health issues, the lawsuit alleges.

City officials filed a motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit on June 29.

The motion argues that the plaintiffs failed to show a pattern of excessive force despite using statistics involving past incidents.

More: Lawsuit claims excessive force pattern by police

The lawsuit cites nine high-profile cases of El Paso police allegedly using excessive force, including the fatal shooting of a handcuffed prisoner, Daniel Saenz, outside the Downtown jail in 2013.

The motion claims that the plaintiffs failed to show that excessive force was used in any of the previous cases. They also failed to provide “details to show that these alleged incidents are in any way similar to the incident made subject of this lawsuit,” the motion states.

It goes on to state that no evidence was presented to show that current city policies contributed to the incident or that the city is required to provide training to help officers deal with people with mental health issues.

2015: Autopsy: Man killed by El Paso police was shot in back

In a detailed 55-page ruling, Martinez states that the plaintiffs provided data that show almost 57 percent of people who died in El Paso police custody from 2012 to 2016 exhibited signs of mental health issues which the police were aware of.

Plaintiffs also state that from 2015 to 2016, about 66 percent of residents shot and killed by officers exhibited signs of mental illness.

It goes on to state that in most of the cases, the victims were unarmed and the officers involved faced no disciplinary actions.

Martinez ruled that the statistics provided by the plaintiffs “supports a reasonable and plausible inference of a pattern or practice of excessive force.”

He added that the cases highlighted in the lawsuit show a “strikingly similar pattern of force as that in this lawsuit.”

The ruling also states that while the city and El Paso Police Department Chief Greg Allen, who is not named in the lawsuit, are not required by law to create policies or protocol dealing with officers’ interactions with people suffering from mental health problems, the number of similar incidents should have led officials to make changes to address the issue.

“After numerous incidents involving individuals exhibiting signs of mental illness that have led to death or serious injury, Chief Allen’s refusal to establish a protocol to reduce the frequency of these violent encounters is a plausible cause for the constitutional violations at issue in this case,” Martinez ruled.

A docket call, during which dates will be set for future hearings, is scheduled for Nov. 17.

While city officials argued that they are not required to create policies or train officers to deal with such situations, the City Council approved $315,000 in funding Aug. 21 to establish a law enforcement team to improve the way police respond to mentally ill individuals.

Related: Steps begin for trained police team to aid mentally ill people

The crisis intervention teams, or critical incident teams, will consist of licensed police officers who respond to emergency calls involving mentally ill people. The teams won't be established for at least another year.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinez31 on Twitter.