Posted on 07/31/2023 5:07:40 PM PDT by rod5591
Police officers allegedly stood by and watched for 15 minutes as a man who relapsed on heroin drowned in the Tennessee River after fleeing from them, according to a newly filed lawsuit.
Kimberly Williams-Clabo claims her son, Mika Wheeler Clabo, would still be alive if it weren’t for the alleged negligence of the Knoxville Police Department, which encountered him “acting erratically” on the morning of July 25, 2022.
Police said that when they approached Clabo, 30, who struggled with a heroin addiction, he ran from them and jumped into the river, where he got caught on vines and drowned.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Williams-Clabo said the four officers at the scene “refused to make a single rescue attempt and inexplicably warned off private rescuers, resulting in the victim’s death by drowning.”
She is suing the officers, as well as the police chief, for violating her son’s civil rights and for wrongful death.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I’m going to side with the cops on this one. No duty to protect - an arrest evading drug addict.
Reminds me of the joke: If you were taking photos along a stream and saw Hillary Clinton drowning, what exposure settings would you use?
The kid chose... poorly.
Jump in to save a little girl or a puppy? Yes.
Jump in to save a “relapsed heroin addict” who will likely try to drown me? Hard no.
I have to agree. If the details in the linked account are reasonably accurate, I can’t side with the plaintiffs.
That said, they will win. Sadly. It is a payday for a family that wouldn’t do enough to keep their loved one off drugs, but have the energy to sue for money.
I wonder if an accurate headline, Cops accused of standing by watching resistive heroin addict drown In Tennessee river, would change the interest in that story?
Swift water rescue requires highly specialized training and proper gear.
Rule # 1: “Don’t become part of the problem”
I am an experienced, heavy duty swimmer, red cross certified (back in the day) lifesaving, lifeguard on lake Michigan 2 seasons. Not bragging but saved 10-12 people in those days. They are exhausting experiences. No way in hell would I go in the water with a police rig on. You have to pretty much get down to your skivvies to have a chance. There are other options such as throwing flotation devices, long poles etc. As far as stopping others, that probably saved their lives. Lifesaving in water requires many “tricks” and skills which need to be learned and not ad libbed.
It was his choice to flee them, he could have just quit and been arrested.
Cops are not lifeguards either. Not trained for it and lifegurds don’t wear heavy gear that will drag you down along with an uncooperative suspect.
So what the bleep was the Mom doing to keep her krakhead kid out of trouble. All in all, if the story is close to accurate I’d be for chucking momma in too. Blaming dumbass behavior on the cops seems a stretch?
Yep.
I had lifeguard training growing up.
I was sitting on the side of my friend’s pool watching my son and family swim. He got in distress and started drowning. I knew, immediately I couldn’t jump into save him as he was panicked and could have pulled me under.
I screamed for help and grabbed the net pole nearby. He grabbed and I was able to pull him out. Would’ve been 2 dead if I had jumped in. It was a split-second decision.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Now can we distribute all the seized fentanyl to the homeless camps?
30 minute time lapse should do.
Innocent people often run from cops and jump in rivers.
I did that just twice last week.
And the victim is in panic and constantly trying to stand on top of the Rescuers head so the Rescuers have to save 2 people at the same time.
Even if he wasn’t a heroin addict and/or a criminal, if you are not trained in open water rescue, you are a fool to go in.
Fire departments do not send firefighters who are not trained in open water rescue into the water nor those who are not trained in confined space into confined spaces, etc.
Just because you are a lifeguard at a pool doesn’t mean you can do open water. That’s an entirely different animal.
It serves no purpose to kill rescuers in a vain attempt to rescue others.
Had the officers allowed bystanders to act, they’d be facing lawsuits from those families.
If you do not use your head in these circumstances, you become an incident within an incident.
she named her son Mika?
Yeah, but you’re a gator! :)
LOL, true...
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