The family of a 21-year-old woman shot to death in an officer involved shooting filed a $10 million federal lawsuit Monday against the Jackson Police Department.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Jackson on behalf of Crystalline Barnes' family, accuses the department of using excessive force in violation of constitutional rights.

This "pattern and practice" led to the shooting death of Barnes, Jason G. Downs, a partner with the Downs Collins law firm said at a news conference.

"Jackson Police Department officers have used excessive force for far too long. And they’ve used excessive force without any fear of repercussion. Today that stops."

Downs argued that results of the preliminary autopsy from the medical examiner's office and the police report contradict one another or leave out crucial details. The lawsuit alleges JPD officers conspired to cover up the truth and falsify a police report, which "is contradicted by forensic evidence."

Barnes, the mother of two small children and an honors student at Jackson State University, was killed in a police-involved shooting on Jan. 27 after she was pulled over by patrol car responding to a call of a vehicle running another car off the road. According to police reports, she drove away after the unit called for assistance and then allegedly began driving backward toward an officer who had gotten out of the car.

The officer fired shots, but was able to get out of the way before Barnes' car hit a patrol car. According to police, Barnes then began driving forward again, toward the first officer, who also fired shots. Barnes' car came to rest against a utility pole just off the road. She was dead at the scene.

The preliminary autopsy showed Barnes was struck three times from behind, in the back of the head, in the back of the neck and in the back, Downs said.

Downs cited a 2017 Department of Justice investigation that found the Chicago Police Department unconstitutionally engaged in a pattern of excessive force. He cited six officer-involved shooting deaths in the year before the Barnes' shooting death.

"Statistically, that means that Jackson police are using excessive force at a rate that is three times higher than the Chicago Police Department. And remember, the Chicago Police Department has already been found to have used excessive force," Downs said.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Barnes' two children, names JPD officers Rakasha Adams, Albert Taylor and Eric Morris as defendants in the case.

Barnes had previous dealings with the police when she was put in the Pre-Trial Diversion Program in 2016 after being charged in a 2014 house burglary at age 17.

JPD Interim Police Chief James Davis did not return a call seekikng comment.