A Georgetown man shot several times inside his home in August, 2013 by a police officer has sued the officer, Delaware State Police and the Department of Public Safety.

Michael W. Rogers and his attorney, Stephen Norman of the Norman Law Firm in Dagsboro, filed the lawsuit in New Castle County Superior Court July 29.

The civil suit was filed five days after Rogers was sentenced to home confinement after pleading no contest to resisting arrest with force for a fight with Trooper Matthew Morgan. The fight inside Rogers' Georgetown home ended with Rogers shot five times and grazed by one bullet. One bullet remains inside him, he testified during his 2014 criminal trial that ended in a mistrial when a jury failed to convict Rogers of third-degree assault and resisting arrest.

The state had been considering a retrial when Rogers took a plea June 5; Judge T. Henley Graves sentenced him to two years of home confinement and 45 days of treatment for alcohol abuse.

Lorraine Rogers, Rogers' mother, said she believes the sentencing was one-sided, and she is looking forward to the civil trial to allow Rogers' side of the story.

“Anybody who shoots someone five times is wrong,” she said. “He violated our civil rights.”

The lawsuit states Morgan, who was later promoted to corporal, went to Rogers' home after 10 p.m., Aug. 1 to investigate an $89 minor traffic incident. No ticket was issued to Rogers.

Morgan did not have a warrant, and even if he did, the lawsuit states, state law forbids him from serving a misdemeanor warrant after 10 p.m.

The lawsuit states Morgan should have waited until the next morning to investigate. Instead, Morgan went to the home to speak to Rogers. Lorraine Rogers answered the door and said she never let Morgan inside. She went to the back of the house to wake Rogers, who was sleeping, and Morgan entered the home uninvited.

The lawsuit states Rogers suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and, according to Morgan, Rogers was mumbling and pacing when Morgan entered Rogers' bedroom.

“Instead of proceeding with caution and restraint, Defendant Morgan instead elected to initiate a physical encounter with Plaintiff,” the lawsuit states.

Rogers fought back after Morgan used a Taser on him; during trial testimony, Morgan said he was in a headlock and feared for his life.

“According to defendant Morgan, once he physically grabbed Plaintiff in his private bedroom, Plaintiff went from being semi-cooperative to being fully combative,” the lawsuit states.

Morgan exited the bedroom and drew his weapon, pointing it at both Rogers and his mother at one point, the lawsuit states.

Morgan stood inside the home near the front door, and Lorraine Rogers was near him when Rogers entered the front room through another door. Descriptions of what happened next differ: Morgan said Rogers picked up a coffee table to attack him; Rogers said he flipped the coffee table and then used it as a shield when Morgan started shooting. The coffee table, couch and wall of Rogers' home were riddled with bullets.

Rogers was arrested and in police custody for six weeks following the shooting. He was taken to Beebe Healthcare for his gunshot wounds, and later committed to Sussex Correctional Institution.

The lawsuit states Rogers suffered pain and now has medical bills related to surgery and other expenses from the gunshot wounds.

“As a direct result of the actions of defendant Morgan, plaintiff suffered significant lifelong, debilitating injuries, loss of wages, permanent disability, emotional anguish, and property damage to his home and personal possessions,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit seeks compensation and punitive damages against Morgan, Delaware State Police and the Department of Public Safety. It also requests payment of attorney's fees for Rogers and fees to pay for expert witnesses.

In addition to monetary compensation, the lawsuit asks that police implement policies, procedures and training to prevent a future incident similar to Rogers' case.

Sgt. Richard Bratz, spokesman for the Delaware State Police, declined to comment on the lawsuit or Morgan's status with the Delaware State Police. Morgan wore a Delaware State Police uniform when he attended Rogers' July sentencing.

Trial set for 2016 in Schueller shooting

In October 2014, the Norman Law Firm filed a civil lawsuit against the Delaware State Police, the Department of Public Safety and a trooper who shot a burglary suspect in the back.

Keith Schueller, 44, of Rehoboth Beach, is serving a four-year sentence at Sussex Correctional Institution after pleading guilty in April 2014 to felony resisting arrest, third-degree burglary, disregarding police officer's signal, theft of services and shoplifting.

As a result of a two-day crime spree that resulted in a high-speed chase along Route 1 and Postal Lane, Schueller was shot in the back by Trooper Brett Cordrey. Police said Schueller picked up a shovel and was swinging it at Cordrey in a threatening manner when Cordrey shot him.

A trial by judge is scheduled Sept. 12, 2016, in New Castle County Superior Court.

Norman said he is representing both Schueller and Rogers in separate trials because of what he sees as a lack of due dilegence by the state.

“This is not about publicizing a case,” he said. “For me, it's a public concern. There needs to be transparency and accountability.”

Norman said following both shooting cases he questions procedure, in which both officers were cleared of any wrongdoing.

In Schueller's case, he said, no one asked the obvious: How was Schueller shot nearly dead center of his lower back if he was facing the officer swinging a shovel?

“It compromises the system when you don't ask the questions,” Norman said.

The amount of police force used in both cases far exceeds the crimes, or in Rogers' case, the alleged crime, Norman said. Using a gun to take down a petty burglar and thief or shooting someone over an $89 parking ticket that was never issued are clear violations of the fourth amendment that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, he said.

“Both these cases rub me the wrong way,” Norman said. “There needs to be some sort of integrity in the process.”