An Omaha man shot by an off-duty police officer outside Cheaters bar Sunday morning is suing the city.

"It hurts, been hurting, I can barely sleep," said Armondo from his hospital room Monday. He suffered a gunshot wound to the knee after a disturbance at the bar near 40th and Farnam just past midnight.

Police say Armondo’s brother broke out a window and they jumped into his SUV to get away. Twenty-eight-year-old Adrien Butler was charged Tuesday with criminal mischief for throwing a crowbar through the window of the bar. At the time, police say he was high on PCP.

"He's going to have permanent disability, the fractured kneecap, nerve damage, tendon damage, something he's probably going to have to live with for the rest of his life,” said Armondo’s attorney, James Martin Davis.

Tuesday, Davis, filed a claim against Cheater's, saying Armondo should have never been the victim of a shooting, especially by a police officer.

Davis has filed two lawsuits on behalf of Armondo for the shooting, one against Cheaters and the other against the city of Omaha. "We have a claim for intentional negligence or reckless act on the part of their employee, their employee is of course the off-duty Omaha Police officer."

Armondo was released from the hospital Monday night. He has not been charged with any crime.

"He wasn't doing anything," said Davis. "He was just driving the car and he didn't even know that he was being shot at until after he got hit."

Because the officer is a city employee, Davis filed a tort claim with the city clerk and is asking the county attorney to file criminal charges against the officer. “As the police department always tells us so often, they are police officers 24 hours a day.”

The off-duty officer is Calvin Harper. "The officer, being heightened with the gunshot he thought he heard, looked to the south and saw this individual again, this individual went and jumped into the SUV and the officer fired shots," said Acting Omaha Police Chief Alex Hayes.

An investigation is underway to determine why Harper fired his weapon and whether it was consistent with the law and department policy. Officer Harper remains on administrative duty.

"What gunshot?" said Davis. "I mean he came out there, there isn't any evidence of him hearing any gunshots. What happens is somebody threw a bottle at the window and he came out and fired five times at the vehicle in which my client was driving."

And according to Davis, abused his right to fire a gun.

Police located the brothers soon after the shooting. They say that while waiting to be interviewed by officers, Adrien attempted to harm himself. Officers immediately called for a rescue squad. He was transported to the hospital and evaluated.

Adrien, they say, was under the influence of illegal drugs and a threat to himself. He was placed in emergency protective custody. After being released from protective custody Tuesday, Butler was booked into jail on the criminal mischief charge.

Police say detectives are learning more information from witnesses who have called in. Anyone who witnessed the incident is encouraged to call 444-5656.