Family of man slain by Southaven police hires law firm

Family members of Ismael Lopez, the auto mechanic slain by Southaven Police on Sunday night, have hired a law firm to represent them.

The attorney was hired by Lopez's wife, said family friend Jordan Castillo.

Lopez was fatally shot at the entrance of his mobile home in the 5800 block of Surrey Lane.

Murray Wells, with the Memphis law firm Horne and Wells, addressed reporters in a news conference, saying police searching for a suspect went to the wrong address. "They should have never been on the property in the first place," he said. 

The statement that the officers went to the wrong address echoed a similar comment the day before from a local prosecutor, John Champion, who said the officers may very well have been at the wrong house.

Champion said Monday that two officers were at the scene and that a pit bull dog burst out of the house, prompting one of the officers to shoot at it.

Then a man pointed a gun at officers through an open door, Champion said. The officers repeatedly warned him to put the gun down before one of them opened fire. 

The attorney representing the family said Lopez, a gun owner, did not have a gun in his hand when he was shot, and that the law firm would do its own investigation to learn what happened.

Earlier this week the Southaven police department referred questions to the prosecutor's office. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is also reviewing the case.