Suit Blames Gun Flashlight for Dallas Man’s Death

The family of a man who was fatally shot in 2010 by an undercover Plano police officer has filed a lawsuit alleging a badly designed flashlight mounted on the officer's handgun led to the death.

"It doesn't matter how old your kids are when you lose one it's hard," said Alcala's mother Belinda Saldana.

Michael Anthony Alcala was shot and killed during an alleged attempt to buy heroin from an undercover officer in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box on the North Dallas Tollway at Frankford Road.

The officer told investigators he was trying to turn on the gun-mounted SureFire X300 model flashlight when he accidentally fired his weapon, killing the 25-year-old.

Alcala's family is suing SureFire Holdings, LLC, and SureFire, LLC, charging the California-based companies with defectively and negligently designing the flashlight. The lawsuit, announced Monday, was filed in state court in Orange County, Calif., last week.

"We hope that Michael Alcala's tragic death will not be completely in vain because ultimately it will lead to this product being taken off the market so that this tragedy doesn't happen to other families," said the family's attorney Ken Sigelman.

The Plano officer involved in the shooting is expected to testify in the lawsuit against SureFire.

A spokesman for SureFire did not immediately return a call or e-mail from the Associated Press seeking comment.

Dallas police investigated the case and presented it to a Collin County grand jury, which declined to charge the officer.

Last August, Alcala's family reached a $245,000 settlement with the city of Plano.

NBC 5's Randy McIlwain contributed to this report.