MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A federal judge has refused the city's request to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of a man who was shot in the back by an officer as he drove away from police.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller ruled Tuesday in the fatal shooting of Justin Fields, 21, by Officer Craig Nawotka.

Stadtmueller questioned Nawotka's version that Fields had been trying to run him over. The judge said there is evidence that neither Nawotka nor anyone else was in danger from Fields.

"If Nawotka fired his weapon while the car was driving away from him, he was not in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury," Stadtmueller wrote. "Under these facts and in light of clearly established law, a reasonable officer in Nawotka's position would not have believed that exercising deadly force was lawful."

Court records said Fields' car had been partially blocking a street, preventing a fire truck trying to get through.
The lawsuit, filed in December 2003, could now move to trial. However, the city could also appeal Stadtmueller's order or settle.

Mark Thomsen, an attorney for Fields' family, said "the judge's decision confirms what we have believed all along, that this city for far, far too long has failed to conduct adequate administrative reviews and discipline police officers for violating citizens' constitutional rights," he said.

Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz declined to comment on the judge's order because the case is ongoing.

"Obviously the case is working its way through legal channels, and we'll want to see what the resolution is on the other end," she said.

A Milwaukee County inquest jury earlier found Nawotka's actions in the case justified, and he was not charged with any state crime. Nawotka was suspended for 30 days and is still an officer.