Judge dismisses $1.5 million lawsuit against Red Bank

photo John Anthony Murray sued Red Bank for $1.5 million, claiming he was arrested illegally on a DUI charge. Murray failed to appear in court and the lawsuit was dismissed.

A judge dismissed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Red Bank after a man who claimed he was arrested illegally on a DUI charge failed to appear in court Tuesday.

John Anthony Murray filed the lawsuit on Aug. 16, 2010, against Red Bank, Hamilton County, former Chief of Red Bank Police Larry Sneed, Red Bank police Officer Tammie Delashmitt and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jim Delashmitt.

"We're pleased with the outcome," Nathan Rowell, an attorney representing Red Bank, said following the hearing in front of Chief U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier.

Rowell and attorneys Keith Grant, who represents Sneed, and Jerry Tidwell, who represents Tammie Delashmitt, declined to comment further on the lawsuit.

Murray did not attend the hearing.

Collier had allowed Murray's former attorney, Robin Flores, to remove himself from the case in August. The judge advised Murray to stay on schedule with filings in the lawsuit. He did not.

Collier said Murray did not respond to the defendants' requests for discovery materials and had not communicated with the court between hearings.

Rowell, Grant and Tidwell said they could not reach Murray when they tried to contact him.

Red Bank Officer Delashmitt pulled Murray over near Soddy-Daisy, miles outside Red Bank jurisdiction, after noticing erratic driving. She then called her husband, Jim Delashmitt, for assistance, according to Times Free Press archives.

In his initial complaint, Murray claimed that officials had not provided him food, water, toilet breaks or telephone calls during his eight-hour stay in the Red Bank holding cell before he was taken to Hamilton County Jail.

The complaint also states that the Delashmitts "deleted [and] altered" county and city police records to justify the arrest and prosecution.

Murray's lawsuit was one of four filed against Red Bank in the summer of 2010. Together, the filings totaled more than $6 million.

Red Bank police Cpl. Rebecca Chauncey sued the city on Aug. 23, 2010, for suspension without pay, a move her attorney called "retaliatory" after she tried to stop Murray's arrest.

Sneed filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Red Bank for "retaliatory discharge" and "political conspiracy" on July 2, 2010.

On Aug. 4, 2010, Officer Bradley Hanon sued the city for "defamation, humiliation and mental anguish" after he said he exposed incidents of alleged improper police work.

All three cases are ongoing. Hanon and Chauncey's cases had been stayed by Collier, pending a new trial date.

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