SPOKANE -- Shonto Pete, the man shot in the head by an off-duty Spokane Police officer in February, has filed a lawsuit against the officer and the City of Spokane in federal court.

KREM.com

The lawsuit accuses Officer Jay Olsen and the city of falsely arresting Pete and violating his constitutional rights.

Detectives say Olsen chased Pete through Downtown Spokane to the Peaceful Valley neighborhood in the early morning hours of February 27th. Olsen fired five shots, one of which entered the back of Pete's head and lodged between his skull and scalp.

Olsen told investigators Pete stole his pick-up truck, which was found near the shooting scene. There was no physical evidence Pete was ever in the truck, but prosecutors still filed car theft charges against Pete. A Spokane County jury acquitted him last month.

Olsen will go to trial next year on 1st degree assault and reckless endangerment charges related to the shooting.

Blood tests show both Pete and Olsen were legally drunk at the time of the shooting.

Pete's civil attorney is based in Chicago. Blake Horwitz told KREM 2 News in a phone interview Wednesday the city is liable for Olsen's actions because he was acting as a police officer at the time of the shooting. Horwitz says this is the first police misconduct case he's been involved in in which both the officer and suspect faced criminal charges.

Horwitz once won a $28 million verdict against the City of Chicago for police misconduct. He would not reveal how much money Pete is seeking from the City of Spokane.