READING, Pa. – The family of a Reading man shot and killed by a city police officer during a mental health call say they want justice.

Damon Stern's family members announced they intend to sue the city.

On Thursday, the family's attorneys held a press conference and released the police-worn body camera video from the day of the shooting, which Berks County District Attorney John Adams found to be justified in April 2024.

Both attorneys and Stern's family say he was a law-abiding citizen, a hardworking man and ex-military.

He and his wife shared five children together, all of whom are now trying to get what they say is "necessary justice."

"This was his birthday; this was his wedding anniversary," said family attorney Shaka Johnson. "This was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day of remembrance and happy times."

Instead, four gunshots to the chest ended the life of 50-year-old Damon Stern, a man allegedly struggling with mental health and contemplating suicide inside his home.

"Those struggles have been documented, have been told on several occasions to the Reading Police Department," Johnson said.

"They know this home, and they know inside is a good man and a good family, and that's important," Johnson added.

The family's lawyers say the narrative told to the public by authorities regarding the March 25 shooting is different from what the bodycam footage shows.

The family and attorneys believe the bodycam footage shows the use of unnecessary force by officers.

"We just need justice served. This is a critical matter going on not only in this community but nationwide," said Rob Pollard, Stern's friend.

It all started with a call from Stern's wife, Carmen, saying she needed assistance with her husband, who was in crisis.

"When she called 911, she wasn't calling 911 for them to finish the job," Johnson said. "She wasn't calling 911 for them to, 'Oh, you want to kill yourself? Let me call the cops so they can do it for you.' That wasn't the purpose of the call. It was to prevent."

"A crisis team should have been here before anything," said Stern's uncle, Tim Cook.

Carmen met arriving officers on the porch.

"She walked up to the first approaching officer, and again said, 'He's got a knife. I think he's going to hurt himself,'" said Johnson.

In the footage, Stern is seen walking slowly toward police, holding the knife upwards, with headphones over his ears.

"You'll see him wearing headphones, and as he was shot and killed and those headphones are jostled off his head onto the porch, you'll hear the music still playing," Johnson said.

When Stern didn't drop the knife, one police officer shot him.

"I think it's important that not both police officers have their firearms out. One has their firearm out, and the other has their Taser out," explained one of the family's attorneys. "One thought that deadly force was necessary, and the other did not."

Carmen was standing next to the officer who shot her husband.

"I thought they tased him. I don't know what gunshots are. I just thought they tased him," she said.

"It's like that officer came here to be judge, juror and executioner," added Stern's daughter.

Now, the family intends to sue the city.