The mother and brother of a 48-year-old man shot dead by police earlier this year in Northeast Redding filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the Redding Police Department. On April 2nd Donnell Lang took a walk, as he often did, on the Lema Ranch Trails and surrounding streets. A resident of Crestlake Drive called 9-1-1 to report a man who seemed to be acting strangely. The caller also believed that he had a small handgun. Officers checking the area spoke with someone who had been watching Lang through binoculars, and also believed he had a gun. Two officers confronted Lang on Hemingway Street, and ordered him to show his hands and lay on the ground. He was confused, but eventually he complied and laid down on his belly. One of the officers put him in a control hold as he prepared to handcuff him. Police say that before Lang could be handcuffed he wiggled free and stood up, moving his hand toward his waist.That’s when the other officer fired two rounds into Lang’s chest from an AR-15 style police rifle. No weapon was ever found. The area was repeatedly searched, including one of the nearby ponds, but nothing was found. Lang was a decorated military veteran who had lived in Redding for two years following his retirement from 17 years in the Navy. He had no criminal background and was committing no crime, and he had no drugs or alcohol in his system. His mother, Diane Lang, learned of his death at around 9:30PM that evening when someone from the RPD called her and questioned her for about 45 minutes asking about her son’s background. At the end of the call, she was informed of her son’s death. Attorney John Taylor says no decision has been made on what monetary damages will be sought. Now that a suit has been filed, any surveillance or cell phone video recovered in the investigation will have to be shared through the discovery process, and they’re hoping that may shed some light on how an afternoon stroll ended so tragically.