LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas woman is suing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department after she was shot in the stomach by a police officer.
It happened in 2017 while police were trying to get her husband to drop his gun at a gas station near Pyle Avenue and Pollock Drive.
Police say that the woman, Shondell Pitts, was fighting with her husband when they pulled into the gas station.
They were fighting over a gun outside of their vehicle when the police arrived.
Police officers asked Phillip Pitts to drop his weapon at least 10 times before an officer fired his gun.
Shondell Pitts is claiming that the police department used "unreasonable force" because she was hit as well and there were propane tanks not too far away.
UPDATE: Sheriff discloses woman was shot by officer, not attacker
One person who saw the incident says that the police were just doing their job.
Phillip Pitts was killed during the encounter.
RELATED: DA's office releases report on the death of Phillip Pitts
The police department determined in 2018 that the officer complied with procedures and policy and he was not punished.
The gas station is also named in the lawsuit. Shondell claims a clerk knew she was in danger, but didn't keep her husband out of the store. When Shondell and her daughter ran into the gas station to hide from Phillip, the clerk reportedly locked the door. The lawsuit claims the clerk unlocked the door moments later, allowing Phillip inside before police arrived.
