The Baker Law Firm Lawsuit - Cops Watched Woman’s Son Drown In Tennessee River

A mother is suing the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, the city's police chief and four officers, alleging police stood by for 13 minutes as her 30-year-old son drowned in a river last year.

Knoxville, United States - April 26, 2024 —

As seen in CNN, The Washington Post and Miami Herald:

Kimberly Williams Clabo claims in the suit that police - who had responded to calls that her son, Mika Wheeler Clabo, was "acting erratically" - also prohibited private citizens from trying to rescue him from the Tennessee River.

Mika Wheeler Clabo, a 30-year-old outdoor enthusiast and skilled arborist, was a recovering and hardworking man who recently got his driver’s license and purchased a new car before his death, according to his mother and her attorney.

However, in the days leading up to his drowning, he “lost everything” he had worked for the previous two years, including his belongings, his license, his self-esteem and “possibly worst of all, his sobriety,” according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on July 25, the anniversary of his death.

"Mika deserved better that day," said Lance Baker, the family's attorney. "He deserved officers that operated like first responders and what he received were officers that operated like bystanders."

The wrongful death suit was filed Tuesday in US District Court, one year after Clabo's death.

Clabo's mother, Kimberly Williams Clabo, accuses the four officers of negligence and depriving her son of his rights — in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment — by not making an effort to save him despite knowing his life was at risk.

She's filed her lawsuit against the City of Knoxville, Knoxville Chief of Police Paul Noel, the four officers and other defendants not identified in the complaint. Like most lawyers, doctors, teachers and many other professionals, most police officers are dependable, ethical and honest.

The lawsuit accuses Knoxville and its police chief of failing to train officers to “properly and safely handle” life-threatening situations.

Williams-Clabo seeks $4 million in damages and demands a 12-person jury trial, the complaint shows.

Learn more @ https://www.lbakerlawfirm.com/criminal-defense-knoxville/ - attorney Lance Baker is a premier Civil Rights & Criminal Defense lawyer in Knoxville, TN.

Contact Info:
Name: Lance Baker
Email: Send Email
Organization: The Baker Law Firm
Address: 800 South Gay Street, Knoxville, Tennessee 37929, United States
Website: https://www.lbakerlawfirm.com/

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 89127400

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