SCHENECTADY — The wife of a man who died in Schenectady police custody filed a lawsuit Tuesday in state Supreme Court alleging police violated Andrew Kearse's civil rights when they failed to get him medical attention despite his pleas for help.

Kearse, 36, died on May 11, 2017, of cardiac arrhythmia brought about by the "wanton disregard" of his well-being by the officers who put him in custody and failed to act when Kearse said he felt unwell and could not breathe, the lawsuit alleges.

Sandford Rubenstein, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Kearse's widow, Angelique Negroni-Kearse, said he hoped the state Attorney General's office would soon begin a grand jury investigation into the 16-month-old death.

Kearse's death is the subject of an ongoing state probe triggered by an executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo that gives the Attorney General the power to investigate deaths in police custody when the victim is unarmed. So far, state prosecutors have said little about their investigation.

"I think that Angelique Kearse is frustrated ... that it's taken this long for the investigation, which continues to be underway," Rubenstein said.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Barbara Underwood confirmed Tuesday that the probe is ongoing.

"I'm looking for justice," Kearse's widow, Angelique Negroni-Kearse, told the Times Union last year. "They treated my husband like an animal, and when they denied him the medical attention that he asked, they thought he was joking."

The lawsuit was filed eight months after Negroni-Kearse filed a notice of claim against the city. The claim, which sought $25 million, was a legal precursor to the lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Carl Falotico, the top lawyer for the city, declined to discuss the lawsuit, saying that as of Tuesday morning the city had not received a copy.

Kearse's encounter with police began when an officer saw him driving erratically on State Street and tried to pull him over. He pulled into a Ward Avenue driveway and ran into a backyard, city police said. Officers chased him.

The pursuit ended behind a Donald Avenue home and Kearse was arrested, city police said. At the time, police said he was not shot or shocked with a Taser, but they would not comment on whether police used other types of force.

Police said Kearse became dizzy and fell unconscious after they took him into custody.

The suit also accuses the police of false arrest.