PHOENIX (AP) - A Civil Service board has upheld the demotion of a Phoenix police officer who fatally shot a mentally ill woman nearly two years ago.
Percy Dupra was a sergeant in August 2014 when officers went to an apartment complex to serve an emergency mental health pickup order on Michelle Cusseaux.
Dupra shot the 50-year-old woman when she reportedly confronted officers holding a hammer over her head.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ruled there was no criminal wrongdoing.
But the Phoenix Police Department’s Use of Force Board found Dupra’s actions violated policy.
A disciplinary review board recommended the 20-year police veteran be demoted from sergeant to officer.
The Civil Service Board upheld the demotion Thursday.
Cusseaux’s family has filed a $7 million wrongful death lawsuit against Dupra and the police department.
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