Lawsuit announced after deputy shoots man to death in north Harris County

HOUSTON – A lawsuit was announced Thursday after a Harris County deputy shot and killed a man last month. 

This comes after social media video surfaced showing the moments leading up to 34-year-old Danny Thomas' death.

WATCH: Lawsuit over deputy-involved shooting announced

The shooting was reported around 1 p.m. on March 22 in the 17600 block of Imperial Valley Drive.

Video posted on Snapchat and Facebook shows Thomas, with his pants around his ankles, walking toward the deputy, who has his firearm pointed at Thomas. 

VIDEO: Sky2 over officer-involved shooting on Greens Road

Thomas follows the deputy as he walks backward with the gun pointed at him.

The video does not show the shooting.

VIDEO: Social media posts show man confronting deputy in street

"Statistics bear out that if you're mentally ill and you're black, that you already have two strikes against you when you encounter law enforcement - and clearly, Danny Ray Thomas, was having a mental crisis," said Ben Crump, the attorney retained by the family. "So, with the filing of this lawsuit, we declare that just because you are having a mental ill crisis (sic), does not mean you should encounter the death penalty."

Crump, a Civil Rights attorney, is currently involved in the case of Sacramento police shooting victim Stephon Clark, who was shot and killed by an officer in his grandmother's backyard.

"This lawsuit is about dealing with issues that are way too pronounced in America involving mental illness as well as race, unarmed citizens being killed unnecessarily by the people who are supposed to protect and serve us," Crump said. 

During a press conference following the shooting, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez outlined the incident.

A deputy was passing through the area when he saw an altercation between Thomas and another man near a vehicle at the entrance of the intersection, Gonzalez said.

According to police, Thomas, with his pants around his ankles, was talking to himself and hitting vehicles with his hands as they passed by.

Gonzalez said the deputy stopped his vehicle and told Thomas to stop. He gave other verbal commands, but Thomas walked toward the deputy aggressively, Gonzalez said. 

The deputy shot Thomas one time in the chest. He was pronounced dead at Houston Northwest Medical Center.

Thomas' family said he had a history of mental illness.

After seeing the video, Thomas' sister, Markeeta Thomas, said she felt her brother was not in his right mind. She said he was having trouble coping after his wife was accused of drowning their two children. 

“Whenever he got into that mind frame, thinking about his wife and his kids, he just felt like he was alone,” Markeeta Thomas said.

"Too many of our brothers and sisters, our relatives are suffering with mental illness and we want to get them help. We don't want them to be killed - they need a helping hand. They don't need bullets, Danny Ray needed a helping hand out there on that highway," Crump said.