Man shot by officer files $10M lawsuit against Portsmouth Police

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A man who was shot by a Portsmouth Police officer is suing the department for $10 million.

Andre Rawls was hit by bullets in the right arm, left leg and right leg twice after being tased in the June 19, 2022 incident on Greenwood Drive. He’s suing for excessive force, battery, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent training and supervision.

Police said they arrived on scene and Rawls, who was 19 at the time, brandished a sharp object at an officer.

Rawls’ lawsuit paints a different picture. According to the suit, Rawls was suffering from a schizophrenic episode when he decided to walk to a house he had previously lived in on the 2300 block of Greenwood Dr.

He knocked on the door in an attempt to speak with an ex-girlfriend who had previously lived there but since moved. When the current occupant opened the door, Rawls saw that they had a dog and reacted in fear, grabbing an “implement believed to be a grilling fork,” to protect himself, according to the lawsuit.

Rawls then tried to leave the property, when a PPD officer responding to a welfare check attempted to stop him.

“[The officer] knew Rawls was experiencing a mental health crisis when he arrived on the scene,” the lawsuit reads. “Despite this knowledge, [the officer] did not attempt to talk with Rawls but, rather, immediately confronted Rawls and began to yell at him.”

Rawls tried to walk away from the property. That was when the officer tased him, hitting his abdomen, shoulder and chest.

“Rawls did not go to the ground and, after being tased, continued to try to leave the property by walking down Greenwood Dr. and away from [the officer],” the lawsuit continues. “[The officer] began yelling at Rawls again and pointed his service firearm at Rawls.”

Rawls continued trying to walk away, before eventually turning back toward the officer. That was when he was shot.

Rawls was initially charged with attempted malicious wounding of a police officer and attempted breaking and entering in relation to the incident. Those charges were nolle prossed in February 2023.