01/29
   LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- A $10 million civil rights suit was filed
Friday against Los Alamitos police in the death of an armed man who
was shot by officers inside his apartment.
   The family's lawyer, Steve Yagman, said Sylvan Byrd, 40, was shot
by police Jan. 23 after the victim answered a loud banging on the
door to his home.
   Yagman said police went to Byrd's apartment after a report of a
loud noise. The attorney said Byrd and his wife, Ellen, had been
arguing.
   When Sylvan Byrd went to answer the door, his wife said he picked
up a handgun he kept on a shelf in the foyer. Ellen Byrd said police
fired numerous shots when her husband opened the door a few inches
wide.
   It is not clear whether officers saw Sylvan Byrd's weapon. Yagman
said police handcuffed the man they shot even though he died at the
scene. Ellen Byrd also was handcuffed.
   The attorney said witnesses claim the officers did not announce
themselves as police.
   The Los Alamitos police chief did not return telephone calls
regarding the case. Other Los Alamitos city officials, who also were
named in the suit, have retained Santa Ana attorney Bruce Praet to
represent them and the police in the case. Praet could not be
reached for comment Friday.