A Chandler mother is taking the city and its police department to court after officers shot and killed her son during what she says was a mental-health crisis. On Wednesday, Kelly Woods filed a lawsuit against the City of Chandler and its police department over the killing of her son, Messiah Deasure-Shamyl McMillian. Attorneys at a news conference said the officer who fired the shots was still in training and pulled the trigger four times while McMillian was visibly in distress. Woods is seeking $10 million in damages and is calling for sweeping changes to how Chandler police respond to psychiatric emergencies.
Woods’ attorneys say she called 911 on March 20, 2025, specifically asking dispatchers to send a crisis-response team because her son has schizophrenia. Instead, they say, uniformed officers arrived around 12:15 p.m. on Commonwealth Avenue just south of Chandler Boulevard, according to AZFamily. The lawsuit describes McMillian as shirtless and barefoot, holding a kitchen knife that witnesses said he was using on himself. The complaint accuses officers of treating the situation like a routine domestic dispute rather than the psychiatric emergency Woods says she clearly reported.
At a press briefing, attorneys walked through a tight timeline that they say shows an immediate escalation into deadly force, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. According to the suit, officers shouted commands within seconds of getting to the scene and never tried less-lethal options such as stun guns, distance tactics, or calling in behavioral-health specialists. The family says they want accountability, but also concrete policy changes so that future crisis calls do not end in gunfire.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint says officers had only seconds between their first contact with McMillian and the moment they opened fire, and attorneys say just 29 seconds passed from arrival to shooting, according to AZFamily. It also alleges that officers waited nearly three minutes to provide life-saving medical aid. Plaintiffs argue that the department’s tactics, including what they describe as the apparent use of a ballistic shield and rapid-fire commands, ramped up the tension instead of calming McMillian down. Woods told reporters, “My son didn't deserve that,” and her attorneys say they are pressing both for accountability and for a clear shift in how the department handles mental-health calls.
Officer Status and the Shooting
According to Woods’ lawyers, the shooter was an officer-in-training who had been on the job for only about four months, and they argue that sending such an inexperienced officer to a psychiatric emergency was negligent. Attorneys and local coverage say that officer fired four shots as McMillian moved toward police while holding a knife, a detail discussed at the news conference and reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. The suit disputes a detective’s account that McMillian was “threatening himself and others,” arguing that witness statements and video referenced in court filings show a man primarily harming himself.
Chandler Police Policy and Training
The Chandler Police Department’s 2024 Use of Force report says the agency prioritizes crisis-intervention training and launched a Behavioral Health Unit in late 2023, according to the Chandler Police Department. The report highlights a Crisis Intervention Team program and notes that officers receive de-escalation and time-and-distance training. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say those written policies make it even more significant that mental-health resources were allegedly not deployed on March 20, 2025, and they argue that the department’s own standards underscore the lawsuit’s claim that officers failed to follow best practices that day.
Legal Context
The complaint names both the city and the police department and seeks damages for wrongful death and related claims. Lawsuits like this often include federal civil-rights causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alongside state tort claims, which can raise questions about qualified immunity and whether a municipality can be held liable. The statute that allows private suits for deprivation of civil rights is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1983, per Justia. Attorneys for Woods say they will seek a jury trial and will pursue the full $10 million in damages requested in the filing.
What’s Next
Woods’ legal team says it has requested body-camera footage and other evidence from the Chandler Police Department and plans to push the civil case forward while simultaneously demanding policy reforms that would prioritize mental-health responders for future crisis calls. The lawsuit now becomes part of a broader local debate over how law enforcement and behavioral-health systems intersect, and it is likely to bring closer scrutiny to Chandler’s response protocols as the case moves through the courts.
