An African American teenager who was shot by a police officer in the back because his friend was holding a toy gun is suing Los Angeles for $ 20 million . Jamar Nicholson , 15 , and his friends were hanging out in an alleyway in South L.A. before school on February 10 when two police officers working for the LAPD 's criminal gang-homicide unit approached the boys with their guns drawn . The LA Times reports that one of the teenagers was holding a toy gun that the officers thought was real and it prompted the officers to fire . Suing LA for millions : Jamar Nicholson ( left ) and his friend Jason Huerta ( right ) , who stand solemnly in the alleyway where Nicholson was shot , are suing the city of Los Angeles for $ 20 million . Nicholson was shot in the back by officer Miguel Gutierrez and is in pain but he says he and his friends feel lucky to be alive . Nicholson was standing next to the unidentified teenager who was holding the replica of the gun . 'Jamar is really lucky to be alive . With respect to the other kids , they are lucky as well that they weren ’ t hit . It doesn ’ t appear that the officer who shot used a lot of discrimination with where he aimed the pistol , ' Jamar 's attorney Herbert Hayden told Yahoo News . The gun that officers thought was real had an orange tip indicating that it was fake . Another attorney John W. Harris who is representing Nicholson and his friend 17-year-old Jason Huerta is arguing that Nicholson and his friend posed no threat to police officers or themselves . 'The LAPD shot first and then asked questions later , ' Harris said . The LAPD says that at 7.45am on February 10 , officers saw a teen holding what appeared to be a gun and they claim they told him to drop it . Real or fake ? : One of the teens present at the shooting was holding this fake gun with an orange tip that LAPD say they thought was real . 'Officers ordered him to drop the weapon multiple times . The individual ignored the officer 's commands , ' a police news release reads . Attorney Hayden said that had a camera been rolling , the LAPD 's story may have been expressed differently . 'The police department ’ s officers have each other ’ s backs . If there is no camera rolling , they are free to construe the facts how they see fit , ' Hayden said . 'It ’ s so bizarre in this incident that testimony of the people we interviewed is so drastically different from the story the LAPD has been pumping out since this first started , ' he added . Hayden said that the officer who shot Nicholson , Miguel Gutierrez , also shot and killed a dog in 2008 when responding to a traffic collision . Both Nicholson and Huerta said they feel traumatized by what happened to them . Seeking justice : Jamar Nicholson , second from left , listens to his attorney John Harris speak during a press conference on Wednesday in South Los Angeles where he was shot on February 10 . Nicholson said he had to miss school as a result of the shooting and said that he felt tremendous pain from his injuries . ' I see a cop and I get nervous , ' he said . ' I 've never really looked at police in a certain way , until that day . ' Nicholson and Huerta say they have never been in trouble with the law before . 'You can check our records , ' Huerta insisted . 'That 's a bad way to meet officers , ' Nicholson said . His friend nodded . 'Got off on the wrong foot , ' Huerta said . Officer Gutierrez has returned to full duty since the incident , though it remains under investigation .
Jamar Nicholson , 15 , was shot in the back by officer Miguel Gutierrez on February 10 because his friend was holding a toy gun . Nicholson and his friend Jason Huerta , 17 , are suing the city of Los Angeles for $ 20 million . Officer Miguel Gutierrez who shot Nicholson has returned to duty but the incident is under investigation .