When attorney Jordan Strokovsky took over the civil suit stemming from the high-profile death of an Eastern Pennsylvania man who was run over by a bulldozer while being chased by police, more than six weeks had passed since the fatal incident and most attorneys he’d spoken to about it suggested he not take up the case.

“Colleagues and mentors—I even phoned up some top civil rights scholars—and they told me, ‘This sounds like a tough case. I wouldn’t get involved in this,’” Strokovsky said.