Calling a $28 million jury award "shocking" and "the product of passion and prejudice," the attorney for two state police troopers asked that a federal judge set aside the verdict and order a new trial.

Attorney Andrew Fletcher, who represented Cpl. Juan Curry and Trooper Samuel Nassan in the civil suit brought by the father of Michael Ellerbe, argued that attorney Geoffrey Fieger disregarded rules throughout the trial. Fletcher also argued that U.S. District Court Judge Joy Flowers Conti improperly stopped him from admitting evidence that would have let jurors see a clearer picture of what happened when Ellerbe was shot and killed on Dec. 24, 2002.

Last month, a panel of federal jurors awarded Ellerbe's father, Michael Hickenbottom over $28 million in damages in his son's death. The panel found that both Curry and Nassan intentionally shot at Ellerbe, and used excessive force.