A lawsuit seeking at least $1 million against the city of Chattanooga, two police officers and the police chief was voluntarily dismissed by the family of the man fatally shot in an apparent mental health crisis that started at a Waffle House on Christmas Eve 2024.
The family of Roberto Carlos Rodriquez Zayas, 38, will not be allowed to refile, according to City Attorney Phil Noblett. He said the family’s attorneys watched the body-camera footage of the incident and dropped the case without a settlement.
The city will not assert any damages against the family for the claim, Noblett said, which the city agreed to in connection with the dismissal. The city was pleased the family’s attorneys dismissed the case on the front end, he said. The case was officially terminated Wednesday, according to court records, thus ending the lawsuit that had accused Chattanooga police of excessive force and civil rights violations.
Local attorneys for the Zayas family did not respond to a message left at reception or an emailed request for comment. Ohio lawyer Joseph T. Frate, also representing the family, said by phone that the family was not interested in speaking with the media, and he declined to comment. The Chattanooga Police Department’s spokesperson referred a request for comment to the City Attorney’s Office.
The complaint had alleged that Zayas did not attempt to harm or threaten anyone besides himself. It also argued that the police officers involved, Lewis Davis and Dylan Johnston, had time and failed to call for backup, make a life-preserving plan and/or de-escalate the situation.