The father of a Black man fatally shot by a Bay Minette police officer after a traffic stop two years ago have filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city, officer.
In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Mobile, Otis French, Sr., claims his son, Otis French, Jr. was also the victim of an illegal search and seizure.
It additionally alleges Bay Minette Police Officer Brandon Thompson used excessive force and knew that French had bipolar disorder and did not take steps to deescalate the situation that led to French’s death on Aug. 20, 2022.
Bay Minette Police Chief Al Tolbert could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit, but police said at the time of French’s death that French became combative and fought the officer during a traffic stop.
French, police said, wrestled the officer’s Taser away from the officer and began using the Taser on the officer.
At that point, the officer shot French, who died at a local hospital. The officer was treated for minor injuries and released.
According to the family’s lawsuit, French was flagged in the police department’s system as “mental/probate,” and claimed Thompson “had knowledge of this flag and/or Thompson had prior interactions with Otis Jr., knew Otis Jr., and/or knew that Otis Jr. had a mental illness.
“Despite this knowledge of OTIS JR.’s mental health condition, Thompson failed to employ de-escalation techniques or seek assistance from mental health professionals, actions that are in direct contravention of generally accepted practices for law enforcement interactions with mentally ill individuals,” the suit claimed.
The officer’s “failure to adjust his approach in light of this critical information directly contributed to the unnecessary escalation of the encounter,” the lawsuit alleged.
The suit also contended that Thompson did not have justification for initiating a traffic stop of French for failing to signal because French was not making a turn.
Meanwhile, the suit alleged, the city’s police chief chairs the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit, which investigated the shooting.
“Thus, the investigation was conducted notwithstanding a clear conflict of interest,” the lawsuit claimed. “Further, there was no independent, objective investigation of the shooting under constitutional standards, contrary to generally accepted national standards for officer-involved shootings.”
