Attorneys representing Daniel Prude's family are filing a federal lawsuit against the City of Rochester, and members of the Rochester Police Department, alleging civil rights violations and wrongful death.
Prude fell unconscious while he was restrained by police last March.
He became unresponsive and died a week later.
Attorney Matthew Piers says the city has failed for years to address misconduct in the police department.
Piers also called the response to Prude's mental health crisis, "another systemic failure on the part of the city of Rochester that needs to be addressed."
A grand jury recently declined to bring criminal charges against the officers who restrained Prude.