ALEXANDRIA &045; A Concordia Parish family is seeking more than $13 million for the fatal shooting of a family member by a Concordia Parish sheriff’s deputy in August 2004.

Eight members of Fredrick Ron Lollis’ family, including three of his children and his mother, Ruby Lollis, sued the sheriff’s office, Sheriff Randy Maxwell, Deputy David Hedrick and an insurance company for allegedly violating Lollis’ constitutional rights.

The family also claims Maxwell and Hedrick participated in &uot;a cover-up and conspiracy to cover up the facts surrounding the death,&uot; according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Ruby Lollis had no comment regarding the lawsuit Tuesday evening.

Maxwell issued a written statement Monday about the lawsuit.

&uot;Although I have not seen the Lollis family’s lawsuit as yet, I am not surprised that they’ve taken this action,&uot; Maxwell’s statement read. &uot;This is to be expected following any incident of this type.&uot;

Last year Hedrick fatally shot Lollis after the deputy said Lollis pointed a gun at him.

The deputy had stopped Lollis for questioning in connection with a crime.

Lollis was shot five times, with two of the bullets going into his head.

Lollis, who worked in Alexandria, was walking along Doty Road in Ferriday at the time of the shooting. He was headed to the home of his mother.

Lollis’ death spurred racial tensions as some members of the Ferriday community held meetings designed to seek &uot;Justice for Ron,&uot; and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People voiced its displeasure at the investigations’ findings.

A Concordia Parish grand jury as well as state and federal investigations cleared Hedrick of any wrongdoing.

&uot;Hedrick, who is a highly trained professional law enforcement officer, was totally cleared and found to have taken the only action he could have taken to save the life of the original complainant, as well as his own,&uot; Maxwell said in his statement. &uot;This was a very tragic accident, there’s no doubt about it.&uot;