KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department is facing a federal lawsuit from the mother of a drowning victim. Mika Wheeler Clabo, 30, died in July 2022 after falling into the river near Calhoun's in downtown Knoxville.
The lawsuit alleges KPD officers let Clabo drown after he fell into the Tennessee River. It alleges that officers stood on the bank but did not get him out of the water as he started struggling. It says officers called for a Knoxville Fire Department rescue boat soon after he fell into the river.
It says three officers approached him near the embankment as Clabo struggled. It also says the officers refused offers from restaurant employees and customers to help Mika. One of the officers warned them not to go into the water to help Clabo, the lawsuit says.
A fourth officer later arrived who urged Clabo to swim back to land and climb out of the water. An EMT arrived and approached Clabo as well, according to the lawsuit. It says none of them tried to help him with their hands, ropes, a tow strap or floatation devices.
It says three minutes after Clabo went under the water, the KFD rescue boat appeared.
KPD originally said last week it would not comment on existing litigation. On July 28, the department released a statement about the lawsuit on social media. It is available in full below.
"While Mika Clabo's death was undoubtedly tragic, the KPD officers involved did not respond inappropriately, and the City will vigorously defend this lawsuit. The officers immediately called for assistance from additional specialized resources, and any suggestion that they prevented reasonable or safe attempts to rescue Mr. Clabo is not supported by the facts.
Clabo was reported missing on July 21, 2022, by his mother — Kimberly Williams-Clabo. It says he drove to Jefferson City on July 15, 2022, to visit his family and returned to Knoxville two days later. It says that was the last day his mother saw him alive.
The morning before he drowned, he was spotted at Market Square wearing underwear and a t-shirt. It says he was "acting erratically." It also says Clabo was in recovery for using opioids before drowning.
The lawsuit argues that Clabo did not get due process when officers didn't help him, and argues that the officers had "a duty of care" towards Clabo. It asks for up to $4 million in damages.
