The mother of murdered Youngstown teenager Landon Lockhart has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city and two police officers.

According to the lawsuit, LaJena Solomon is suing the City of Youngstown and YPD officers Robert Gentile and Hannah Short.

The filing alleges that the city failed to investigate Lockhart's disappearance promptly and thoroughly and that the City of Youngstown's response to missing white women and girls demonstrates significant race and gender disparities.

The lawsuit also makes claims of wrongful death, a violation of the 14th Amendment right to equal protection, and a survival claim under Ohio Revised Code 2305.21.

The lawsuit documents the time leading up to Lockhart's body being found. The filing says he went missing from his mother's home in Youngstown at approximately 11 p.m. on November 21, 2021. Lockhart's mother contacted Youngstown Police at 11 p.m. that same night, telling them it was unlike her son to stay away from home for so long without speaking with his family.

The court filing says Youngstown Police did not file a missing child report that night and told Solomon that she had to wait 24 hours to do so. After Lockhart did not return home after 24 hours, Solomon called YPD again, and officers came to her house to take a report on November 22, 2021. The lawsuit says the report was not filed until the next day, November 23, 2021.

The filing says the report classified Lockhart as a runaway and not a missing child. That distinction means Lockhart did not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert as a runaway. Solomon and her family insisted that Lockhart hadn't run away and were concerned that he was in danger. The filing alleges that the defendants continued to treat Lockhart as a runaway and did not investigate his disappearance with urgency.

The lawsuit claims the defendants did not attempt to track Lockhart's cell phone or Apple Watch and did not alert the media to spread the word about his disappearance.

According to the plaintiffs, Lockhart being deemed a runaway led to his story not getting media attention. They claim the family pushed the defendants to involve the media, but they did not do so for more than a month. During this time, they claim Officer Short said that because Lockhart was a runaway, they must have a medical concern to initiate media coverage.

On January 4, 2022, Gentile issued a statement about the case, saying there was concern that Lockhart could be in danger. During the same period, the lawsuit claims that Solomon made flyers, reached out to the community, got her son's cell phone records, and attempted to track his phone and Apple Watch.

The lawsuit says Apple told Solomon she would need a subpoena to get Lockhart's Apple Watch location. The lawsuit alleges that Officer Gentile said a subpoena for Lockhart's location would be a "waste of taxpayer dollars."

Nearly two months after Lockhart's disappearance, his body was found in a wooded area at 34 N Truesdale Avenue on January 13, 2022. The lawsuit says he was wearing his Apple Watch. His death was ruled a homicide, and three teenagers were charged and convicted for his murder - Anjuan Whitfield, Anthony Wilkins Jr., and an unnamed defendant.

The lawsuit says Lockhart was killed on or about December 22, 2021, a month after he'd gone missing, citing his death certificate.

According to the filing, Solomon received information on November 22, 2021, that Lockhart was being held at a home in the 800 block of E Avondale Avenue in Youngstown. Solomon tracked Lockhart to that location by calling the last number dialed from his phone records. The lawsuit claims she gave this information to Youngstown Police and that they did not investigate it. Solomon noted that witnesses also placed Lockhart at a house on Avondale Avenue shortly before his death.

The lawsuit alleges gender and race disparities played a role in the case, citing the cases of Amy Hambrick from 2017 and Whitnee Bender from 2023. It also claims that the defendants had reason to believe that Lockhart could be the victim of kidnapping, abduction, unlawful restraint, or interference with custody.

The plaintiffs also allege that "discriminatory failure to investigate" Lockhart's disappearance caused him to be held against his will for approximately a month before he was shot five times by three other teenagers.

The plaintiffs demand a trial by jury in the case.

The City of Youngstown has not filed a response as of this writing.