FARMINGTON — The court has extended the time for the town, police chief and a police officer to respond to a civil suit filed against them in November.

Parents of veteran Justin Crowley-Smilek recently filed the wrongful death lawsuit against the town, police Chief Jack Peck and police officer Ryan Rosie, who shot Crowley-Smilek in front of the Municipal Building on Nov. 19, 2011.

Initially, a response was expected by Dec. 9, but the time was extended for a procedural reason to the first week in January, attorney Douglas I. Louison of Boston said Wednesday. Louison is representing the town, Peck and Rosie.

The time was requested after the case was transferred from Superior Court in Farmington to a Somerset court and then to federal court in Portland, he said.

The court records need to be “bundled up,” transferred and filed, he said. These were just filed in the federal court Tuesday. The response being prepared by Louison for the defendants is expected by Jan. 8.

The benefit of transferring to the federal court, which specializes in federal claims like this, is it has a pretty quick schedule. The federal court expects these civil litigations to be resolved within 18 months, Louison said.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office found that Rosie was justified in shooting Crowley-Smilek, 26, of Farmington in May 2012.

The report said that Rosie took cover behind a police cruiser after Crowley-Smilek ignored demands that he take his hands out of his pockets. Rosie fired after the veteran took a butcher knife out of his pocket and charged at the officer.

Crowley-Smilek, who served in Afghanistan, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit. It also claims he went to the Farmington police station the day he was killed to ask for help “regarding mental health services.”

The complaint, brought by Ruth Crowley of Portland, Ore., and Michael Smilek of Farmington, personal representatives of their son’s estate, alleges that Farmington police Chief Jack Peck and the town failed to properly supervise Rosie, in part because the officer was not required to attend the Maine Criminal Justice Academy before being allowed to work and carry a gun.

Rosie was never trained “regarding the use of deadly force” or “in dealing with individuals with mental illness or in tactics to defuse a potential confrontation with a person in a crisis situation,” the lawsuit claims.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and all monetary relief the court finds appropriate.

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