The City of Priceville and a Priceville Police Department officer involved in a deadly pursuit in September have both been dropped from an unrelated wrongful death lawsuit.
Officer Garry Chapman and Priceville were being sued by the mother of John Scott, Jr., who died at Huntsville Hospital just days after being arrested and taken to the Morgan County Jail on April 15.
According to a local news report, Decatur Police officers came into contact with Scott twice on that day. The first interaction followed a call from his mother to dispatch, reporting Scott was having a mental health episode. After the officers departed, she later called a second time, resulting in Scott's erratic arrest.
Chapman was at the Morgan County Jail when Scott was being booked. However, Priceville Police chief Jerry Holmes said the officer was there simply to process an individual arrested by the Priceville Police Department.
The lawsuit, filed in late August, originally named six people from Decatur, 10 from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Chapman. It reportedly contains numerous counts "claiming wrongful death, violations of an individual’s federal rights, assault and battery."
Chapman was officially dropped from the wrongful death lawsuit on Thursday.
He is also currently being sued for his role in a fatal police pursuit that occurred in September, claiming the life of a teenager and injuring six others.
According to the lawsuit, Rachel Moore, mother of Tristian Hollis, is suing multiple parties for alleged negligence and wantonness. Chapman is accused in the legal action of having “negligently operated a motor vehicle and violated his duty to Tristan Hollis to operate his vehicle safely on Alabama public highways.”
The fatal wreck at the center of the legal action occurred on the night of September 6, when Chapman attempted to pull Archie Hale over for moving violations and suspicion of DUI When Hale fled, he eventually struck the vehicle occupied by Hollis and the other children. According to authorities, the incident began on Alabama Highway 36 around 8:30 p.m. and ended with the wreck at the intersection of Highway 31 and 36.
Chapman was fired from the department following the crash, but was eventually reinstated after the Priceville City Council unanimously reversed his termination. He is now suing the City for $10 million, claiming emotional pain and suffering because of the incident. Chapman is also alleging that the City engaged in disparagement.
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