Daniel Ficker was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer five years ago on Sunday.
In an exclusive interview with NewsChannel5, his parents said they are baffled by the City of Cleveland's continued efforts to keep them from having their day in court.
"It's not about the money," said Ficker's mother, Bernadette Rolen,
"We just want somebody to say, 'You're wrong' (to Cleveland police)," she said.
On July 4, 2011, Daniel Ficker was shot and killed by Cleveland police officer Matthew Craska outside his home on Wareham Drive in Parma.
"He was funny. A fun guy to be with. He was smart," said Dennis Ficker, the victim's father.
"It's there all the time, but this time of the year makes it worse," he said.
"It doesn't get easier. I don't know who said that. It's not true," said Rolen.
"A piece of my heart is gone," she said.
Internal affairs investigators found Craska and David Mindek, another officer who was also involved in the incident, violated several department policies.
Craska went to Parma while he was supposed to be on patrol in Cleveland.
Mindek was off-duty.
Both officers have since left the Cleveland Division of Police.
Rolen and Ficker filed a federal lawsuit in 2012 after prosecutors declined to charge the officers with murder.
First, attorneys representing the City of Cleveland fought to have the lawsuit dismissed, but a federal judge ordered the case to go to trial.
The city then appealed the judge's order to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
There was a hearing in March and they are still awaiting the court's decision.
"We're kind of stuck in the same old place," said Ficker.
5 On Your Side Investigators uncovered the City of Cleveland often does less to delay cases involving police misconduct.
We found the city has settled at least 41 cases since 2013.
The most prominent example: In April, the city agreed to pay $6 million to the family of Tamir Rice.
The 12-year-old was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann in November 2014.
The City of Cleveland declined our request for an on camera interview about Ficker's case.
In an e-mail, the mayor's spokesperson, Daniel Williams, wrote, "...as this case is still ongoing the city policy is that we do not provide comment during ongoing litigation."
