PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — The city of Pawtucket and a former member of its police department are facing a multimillion-dollar civil rights lawsuit related to an off-duty shooting in 2021.

The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of three men who were teenagers when their car was fired upon by then-officer Daniel Dolan on Nooseneck Hill Road in West Greenwich.

The lawsuit seeks $4 million in damages for the physical injury and emotional distress allegedly caused by Dolan’s “unprovoked, intentional, reckless, and negligent actions.”

“Plaintiffs experienced physical symptoms including but not limited to gunshot wound, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, vomiting, headache and other physical manifestations,” the lawsuit states.

It also accuses the city of failing to properly train its police officers.

The lawsuit argues that Dolan used excessive force when he confronted the plaintiffs’ car outside a pizza shop and fired a shot at them, hitting the driver in the arm.

Dolan was in plainclothes and driving his personal pickup truck at the time. He testified that he saw the car speeding on I-95 and followed it to speak with the driver, but then opened fire after the driver backed up and tried to leave. Dolan said he feared he was going to be run over.

The driver, Dominic Vincent, said he tried to drive off because he didn’t know that Dolan was a police officer and wasn’t sure what was happening.

The initial confrontation was captured on surveillance video , though the shooting happened off-camera.

Dolan was charged with felony assault, but the jury at his trial found him not guilty on all counts.

Despite Dolan’s acquittal, the city still sought to fire the veteran officer . He remained on paid suspension while the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR) process played out, but eventually resigned last November .

Dolan was also arrested in October by Coventry police for allegedly driving drunk and threatening police officers . He pleaded not guilty to those charges.

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