The widow of a man who police say killed his 5-year-old son and then himself has sued Denver, alleging a SWAT officer killed the two.

"Both individuals died from a single shot from a SWAT rifle bullet to their heads," reads the complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Monday.

Police were looking for Elias Santistevan after receiving reports he assaulted his wife and took his son.

The next day, Aug. 7, 2006, they found him in a Denver condo. Shots were fired from the residence, and Santistevan had hostages, police said.

Chanell Santistevan, the widow of Elias Santistevan, claims police used excessive force in ending the standoff then lied about what happened afterward. The suit also said her husband was unarmed when a SWAT officer shot him and their son, Deion.

The lawsuit also alleges that police "left Elias Santistevan in a pool of blood in the bathtub to die from his bullet wound for over a period of several hours, so there would be no witness to their atrocity."

The suit said police tried to cover up what happened by saying that Elias Santistevan had shot his son, then turned the gun on himself before police burst into the home.

The Denver City Attorney's Office declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.