Christina Tolley paused to catch her breath, wiping away tears before speaking about her son who was killed by Hickory police officers in 2023.

“He was tender-hearted. He was loyal to a fault,” Tolley said, choking back tears. “He was a good person. He didn’t deserve this.”

Tolley’s son was 27-year-old Timothy Craig Setzer Jr. Setzer was shot 17 times in a parking lot of an abandoned building on 10th Street Southwest while running from police officers with the Hickory Police Department on Aug. 13, 2023, according to court documents. Setzer died at the scene.

Tolley, represented by attorneys, filed a lawsuit against the city of Hickory on Aug. 13. She is suing the city and three police officers, Aaron Caine Travis, Austin Ryan Steele and Isam Gamal Shamseldin, for at least $25 million. T

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