Civil Suit Claims Black Man was Targeted and Killed after Unnecessary Deadly Car Chase by Saratoga Springs Cops
/The mother of Darryl Mount Jr., the 22-year-old African-American man who died from injuries suffered during a police chase in 2013, is suing city police, alleging her son's race may have played a part in the events that led to his death.
Patty Jackson, the administrator of her son's estate, argued in court papers filed Nov. 24 that police chased her son "without just cause" and used excessive force on Aug. 31, 2013.
"The decedent's ethnicity may have contributed to the actions of the police officers," the suit stated. Mount was black.
Mayor Joanne Yepsen could not be immediately reached for comment.
According to police, on the morning of the incident, Mount, who lived in Malta, fell 20 feet from scaffolding in an alley along Broadway. Police said he was attempting to run away from officers who said they saw him push a woman into a wall at about 3 a.m. on Caroline Street in the Spa City's bar district.
Social media posts quickly accused police of assaulting Mount. His family has continually alleged Mount's injuries were because of the officers' reckless pursuit of him. And they called for an independent investigation of the incident. The city's internal inquiry cleared officers of any wrongdoing.
Mount, who was bedridden for months with serious head and facial injuries, died from his injuries May 13. The suit said he was in a coma.
"The injuries sustained by (Mount) were the direct result of excessive force by the police officers who were acting as employees of the defendant and within the course of their employment," stated the lawsuit. "The actions of the police officers were reckless, abusive and constituted an excessive use of force and were an assault on the person of the decedent."
It said Mount's suffering includes medical expenses, pain and physical and emotional trauma resulting in his death.
In September, the family's attorney, Robert Katzman, blasted the death certificate that said Mount "fell from scaffold while evading police."
The lawyer said: "It is beyond belief. The police don't even have proof he fell from scaffolding. How can you put that on a death certificate when you don't know that?"
At a news conference in August, public safety officials released a statement saying: "Despite unsubstantiated claims that have been made publicly that police officers assaulted Mr. Mount ... no witness (has) ever come forward to report that they saw any officer engaged in any form of abuse or misconduct during the night of August 31, 2103."
Police have released photos of video stills and video from surveillance cameras that captured part of the deadly incident, in addition to redacted copies of case reports, witness statements and radio transmissions.
