(San Diego, Calif.) The parents of a gay man shot to death by police during a gay pride event in San Diego have filed two claims seeking $20 million dollars from the San Diego Harbor Police.

Harbor Police were notified by the operators of the charter boat and Hirschfield was rescued but reportedly began fighting with officers who pulled him onto their boat.

He allegedly grabbed a Taser from one officer and struck him in the face.  Police said he then attempted to take the officer’s handgun.

As the two struggled a second officer shot Hirshfield. He was pronounced dead by paramedics when the police boat docked.

The claims were made by Alan and Nicole Hirschfield in what is the first step toward filing a lawsuit.

The attorney representing Hirschfield’s parents, Brian Claypool, earlier this week accused Harbor Police Chief Kirk Sanfilippo of homophobia.  The chief has declined to comment on Claypool’s allegations and the claim filed on behalf of the parents does not mention homophobia.

It accuses the officers involved in the shooting of killing Hirschfield without justification.

Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the San Diego Police Department conducts an investigation.

In an interview with the San Diego Tribune Claypool said that the notice of claim is the only way to get the facts surrounding the shooting.

“Then we can gather, through discovery, all of the physical evidence and witness statements from the San Diego police,” he told the paper.

“If we don’t file a lawsuit, we’ll never be able to reconstruct the shooting.”