Relatives of a military veteran who survived tours in Kuwait and Bosnia and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder won a round in court when a judge ruled most of their suit against the city of Long Beach regarding the man’s 2016 police shooting death can proceed.

The suit, filed in August 2017 by Sofia Valenzuela and her granddaughter, who is a minor, alleges that Jose Romero was harassed and racially profiled by officers in the Long Beach neighborhood where he lived, before his death, because he was Latino.

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Michael Vicencia, after hearing arguments on a motion by the Long Beach City Attorney’s Office to dismiss the case, ruled Thursday that the case can go to trial on the plaintiffs’ allegations of wrongful death and one of two civil rights violations filed in the case.

Vicencia dismissed another civil rights allegation of negligent training and supervision.

Trial of the case is scheduled for Feb. 25.

Lawyers for the Long Beach City Attorney’s Office maintained that Romero advanced toward officers with a long-bladed kitchen knife and ignored commands to drop the weapon. Romero, 39, was shot about 10:15 p.m. Sept. 4, 2016, in the 1600 block of Obispo Avenue. According to the lawsuit, Romero was an honorably discharged military veteran and police knew he had post-traumatic stress disorder.

Officers were dispatched about 9:15 p.m. after Romero called police and said he wanted to commit “suicide by cop,” prompting the department to dispatch a police mental evaluation team, the suit says.

Romero was “at times” holding a kitchen knife in one hand and later a cell phone after putting the knife on the ground, according to the lawsuit. He picked up the knife again and was walking with it toward officers when up to 10 shots were fired at him as he crossed Obispo Avenue, the suit states. He fell face-forward on the street and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the lawsuit.

Suicidal Man Armed with Knife Fatally Shot by Long Beach Police