Gil Collar death suit will become a federal case

An attorney for the family of a student shot to death by a University of South Alabama police officer says a lawsuit in the case is moving from state court to federal court.

A grand jury found that Officer Trevis Austin was justified in shooting Gil Collar. Police said he was naked and banging on a window at a campus police station Oct. 6, 2012. Austin, who went outside to investigate the sound, said Collar was acting erratically and lunged toward him.

Al.com reports (http://bit.ly/1zbJNbM ) that Mobile County Circuit Judge Robert Smith granted a request by lawyers for Collar's parents to dismiss the suit in state court.

Lawyer Ben Locklar, who represents the family, said he plans to file a federal civil rights suit. Locklar said the shooting was not justified.

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