A $20 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in McMinn County Circuit Court against the city of Athens, Tennessee, and two police officers in the 2020 death of a man they were taking to jail.
Allen Ott's sister, Torie Dawn Ott, claims the city and the two officers, Jeremy Bowman and Beau Swafford, were negligent in not seeking medical help for Ott after he allegedly exhibited symptoms on the way to the McMinn County Jail after being examined and released from a local hospital, according to the lawsuit filed Monday by Ott's Chattanooga-based attorneys, Robin Flores and W. Neil Thomas III.
The suit seeks $10 million in compensatory damages, $10 million in punitive damages, court costs and other relief.
Athens police Chief Cliff Couch issued a statement on the suit.
"First of all, our thoughts are with Mr. Ott's family. We know that every life is precious and his loss must be especially painful for them," Couch said.
The officers found Ott disoriented and he appeared to be under the influence of "some sort of substance" so he was taken to the hospital for examination and was released, Couch said.
"Officers then took him directly to the jail for public intoxication," Couch said. "When they arrived at the jail, they found him unresponsive. They immediately began lifesaving measures and summoned medical help. Unfortunately, the efforts were unsuccessful."
According to the lawsuit, Bowman and other officers responded to a medical call at a car wash where Allen Ott was allegedly "taking too much medication." Paramedics got there shortly after the officers.
Ott had signs of physical injuries related to an assault and said he had taken 20 Wellbutrin and was experiencing hallucinations, the lawsuit states.
Ott allegedly collapsed on the way to the patrol car, and the suit alleges "Bowman falsely claimed in the [police] report that the deceased 'started acting like he could not walk and fell to his knees, and would not comply with my commands to stand up.'"
Ott was taken by paramedics to the Starr Regional Medical Center, where he was examined and released to police custody, the suit states.
Swafford arrived at this point and he, a paramedic, and Bowman exited the emergency room taking Ott with them. According to the lawsuit, Ott began to collapse at that time - "nearly directly underneath a big red lighted sign, AMBULANCE, and within feet of the same emergency room doors."
The suit contends Ott was showing signs of physical distress while he was handcuffed, face down, with his hands behind his back in the back of the patrol car, where he began to "uncontrollably spasm and shake," striking his head on the car.
"After several seconds of this shaking while being pressed down by [the paramedic] and Swafford, [Ott] jerked a few more times and went limp," the lawsuit states.
"Upon arrival at the jail sally port, [Ott] was pale with blotches of purple in color, his face bloody, damaged and a deep purple," the suit states. "As Bowman and Swafford pulled the limp and unresponsive [Ott] from the back of Bowman's police car, Swafford and Bowman realized that [Ott] was not breathing."
Ott "was actually dead or so near death that any chance for medical care to save him was gone," the suit states. "Only now did the individual defendants seek medical attention" for Ott.
The suit alleges Bowman afterward made false statements that Ott was violent and kicking.
A TBI investigation and subsequent case review by the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office "found that Mr. Ott died of a drug overdose," Couch said.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.