Cops who watched man drown for 13 minutes without helping face $4million lawsuit
Police who allegedly watched a man drown for 13 minutes without jumping in to help are being sued for $4million.
Tree surgeon Mika Wheeler Clabo, 30, was affected by an opioid addiction that had destroyed his life. He had gone to rehab but relapsed, according his mother, and began acting erratically. She reported him missing to local authorities.
Days later, witnesses spotted Clabo in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, in a depressed state. He was seen being kicked out of a vehicle while wearing only underwear and a t-shirt. His behaviour caused over a dozen 911 calls.
When police arrived on the scene, Clabo became alarmed and bolted towards the waters of the Tennessee River. There, he reportedly fell into the water and became tangled in seaweed. That's when, according to the lawsuit, the officer asked him to get out of the water. He also told him to swim for it and to swim towards the dock.
Mika Wheeler Clabo's mother is suing the local police department after they failed to save her drowning son, not even making an effort (Farrar Funeral Home)After that, the officer was heard remarking towards nearby restaurant staff that 'he couldn’t reach Clabo and scoffed at the notion of Clabo’s drowning.
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The officer allegedly said, 'Wait there, dude,' as he waited for a rescue boat he had called earlier to show up. A second officer showed up and also allegedly stated that Clabo "wasn't going anywhere" and proceeded to hang around watching the situation.
Eventually, a third officer showed up in time to hear Clabo gasping and asking to be rescued. He watched the situation. The officers “acted with no urgency whatsoever throughout the incident to respond to the life-or-death situation,” according to the suit.
A restaurant worker took a walk around the dock, noticed something was wrong, and told officers that Clabo had a vine wrapped around his neck. A minute later, officers can allegedly be heard on bodycam footage radioing for medical help and telling the dispatch they 'didn't think' Clabo would cooperate with directions - so they didn't give him any.
Photo of the area where Clabo drowned, as onlookers were prevented from helping (Knoxville_PD/Twitter)“Yet, for approximately fifteen minutes, other than coaxing Mika on by yelling at him to ‘swim’ or “get out', no one helped him – not the four KPD officers who stood chatting on the riverbank, not an EMT who got to the water’s edge before Mika’s head went underwater for the last time, and not the employees and patrons of Calhoun’s On the River, who watched it all and repeatedly urged the officers to save the drowning man . . . or let them do it,” the lawsuit says.
Employees at the restaurant outside can be heard on police cam footage offering help like floatation devices, a tow-strap and a small boat, the suit claims. They weren't allowed to by the officers on duty.
Now, his mother is suing the department saying he was 'denied his right to due process' by allowing him to drown, which she says was due to his history with drugs. The suit also claims that Clabo was an exceptional man with a high IQ and a master arborist with an excellent reputation. She's suing for $4 million, as well as the cost of the lawsuit.
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