WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed against a southern Delaware police department following the drowning of a handcuffed suspect.
But the judge said Friday that Seaford police could renew their dismissal after a determination of whether individual officer defendants had actual notice of the lawsuit within the prescribed time period.
The lawsuit was filed by the mother of 19-year-old Justin Johnson, a burglary suspect arrested in July 2014 after being spotted riding his bike near a street festival.
Johnson, with hands cuffed behind his back and wearing a backpack, fled from officers and ran into the Nanticoke River, where he drowned despite attempts by officers to save him. The lawsuit claims officers could have done more to save him, and to keep him in their custody.
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