New Orleans ? The son of an 91-year-old woman who died slumped in her wheelchair after Hurricane Katrina – an image that came to symbolize the government’s slow response to the catastrophic storm – sued the city and state Thursday.

Herbert Freeman Jr. accuses numerous state agencies and the city of New Orleans of gross negligence and willful misconduct in the death of his mother, Ethel Freeman. He claims he was ordered by New Orleans police to seek shelter at the city’s convention center, even though no aid was available and there was no way out.

The lawsuit, filed in state Civil District Court in New Orleans, seeks unspecified monetary damages.