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Photographer Bob Shell sued the Radford Police Department on Tuesday for copyright infringement for images police seized in their investigation of the death of one of his models.

In the latest development in an increasingly acrimonious situation, the photographer claims that the Radford Police Department has copied more than 600 of his images in violation of federal copyright law.

"That's not kosher. You just don't do that without permission," Shell said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. He described himself as not only a well-known photographer, but also said that he had testified as an expert in copyright law cases.

Some of the best copyright lawyers in the United States are working as consultants on the case, Shell said. They have said that this is the first case of its kind they have seen, in which a law enforcement agency has been sued for copying images in a criminal investigation, said Shell, 57. He would not name those lawyers, however.

Shell said that under federal law, he's entitled to collect $150,000 per image that the Radford Police Department has reproduced without his permission. Radford could be held liable for a penalty of $90 million, Shell said. He also is seeking punitive damages and attorneys fees in the case. He is represented in this case by Roanoke attorney Hal Adkins.

Tara Branscom, a Roanoke attorney who specializes in intellectual property at the firm of LeClair Ryan Flippin Densmore, said, "It's a very unusual action to take."

Typically, when people sue for copyright infringement, it is because someone is not only using copyrighted material, but also profiting from it, Branscom said. She anticipated that the police could refer to some other law that would say an investigation should trump copyright concerns.

The filing of the lawsuit makes good on threats Shell has made in previous court proceedings in the case against him, which has been increasingly contentious. Shell is set to stand trial in January in connection with the overdose death of one of his former models, Marion Franklin.

Shell is charged with felony homicide, three counts of defiling a corpse, attempted sodomy, two counts of attempted animate object penetration and three drug charges in connection with Franklin's death.

Franklin, 19, overdosed on morphine in Shell's photography studio in downtown Radford in June 2003. State authorities blame him for supplying the morphine to Franklin, but Shell has denied any wrongdoing in Franklin's death. Federal authorities also are reportedly investigating the case.

Radford Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Rehak said he had heard Shell threaten before that he might sue for copyright infringement during prior court proceedings in the case. Rehak declined to comment further on the case.

Shell cited several examples of what he described as copyright infringement. The images were of his models, he said.

One detective in the police department carried a notebook with a picture of Franklin that Shell took taped to the front, Shell said. He would not name the detective.

"They took all three of my computers and they have literally thousands and thousands of my images," Shell said.

Police from the department also have printed out some of those images and shown them to people outside the law enforcement community, Shell argued. He would not supply the names of the people who told him that or any more information about the allegations.