The family of an unarmed man with a history of mental illness who was shot to death by a San Diego police officer in a Midway District alley in April has filed new accusations in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the department.

The family of the man, Fridoon Rawshan Nehad, alleges the department conducted a “sham” investigation to cover up the actions of Officer Neal Browder, who shot Nehad once around midnight in an alley off Hancock Street on April 30.

The suit says investigators allowed Browder and his attorney to review a video of the shooting captured by a private security camera before being interviewed by homicide detectives. The video has not been publicly released by the department, despite requests from The San Diego Union-Tribune and other local media.

The shooting has stirred controversy, in large part because Browder did not activate his department-issued body-worn camera, in violation of department policy.


Browder had been called to investigate reports of a man with a knife in the area. The department initially said Nehad was holding a shiny object, later revealing that it was a pen. The suit says Browder told investigators that night he didn’t see any weapons on Fridoon.

The lawsuit says that security footage shows Nehad was 25 feet away from Browder when shot — more than the 10 to 15 feet that police have described. It also says Browder was interviewed a few hours after the shooting but that was stopped after a police union lawyer intervened and he was not interviewed again for another five days.

Browder has since been returned to full duty. The new complaint names Chief Shelley Zimmerman and accuses her of allowing a cover-up.