Mother sues Oakland County Sheriff's Office over fatal police shooting of son
(CBS DETROIT) - A woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, alleging that deputies wrongly shot and killed her 33-year-old son.
The lawsuit also claims that the department has a long history of discrimination toward Black residents and that deputies were predisposed to treat the man differently than a White resident.
Tammy Cox filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of the estate of her son Tony Cox. The lawsuit claims Cox was shot nine times in the back while running away. Tammy Cox and her lawyers said they were never given information that they were promised, like the investigation report.
"We're indicating John Doe Sheriff's because we don't know the names. It's been a year and a month, and they still have been frustrating our efforts just to get information," said Todd Perkins, one of the attorneys representing Cox.
Perkins said they are filing the lawsuit to get answers that could help bring closure to Cox's family.
"I tried to do it the right way, and the nice way, but now I can't be nice about it. How can I be nice when I've got a grieving mother, when I've got a grieving sister, when I've got a grieving aunt? I have all these individuals over here, nice is out the window. Judgment is today," he said.
The wrongful death lawsuit stems from a traffic stop on Dec. 13, 2023. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said deputies pulled over Tony Cox in the area of North Astor and North Pike streets around 9 p.m. They said Cox was driving a silver four-door sedan that was believed to be involved in a previous shots-fired incident at the Carriage Circle Apartment Complex the weekend before.
They said Cox fled the traffic stop, and deputies pursued before stopping him with a PIT maneuver near the area of Westway and Benson St. The sheriff's office said Cox then got out of the car and raised his arms in what they called a "two-handed posture," indicating he may have a weapon.
"You see his hands, there's no weapon in his hands," said Perkins. "They start shooting then, those are not the shots that caused his death. They killed him when they shot him nine times in the back, and he's running away. And that's something you cannot do."
The lawsuit claims, "Tony Cox made it about 30-50 feet away from the sedan when Defendant Deputy Sheriffs John Doe #1–8 rapidly emptied their weapons, shooting Tony Cox nine times in the back, one of which pierced his aorta and killed him. While he was lying on the ground, Deputy Sheriff John Doe #6 ordered Tony Cox to "get up" and kicked his lifeless body. None of the Defendant Sheriffs attempted to resuscitate Tony Cox. No weapon was found on or near Tony Cox because he had none."
Perkins said he has seen some of the unreleased police body camera footage and claims in the lawsuit that Cox feared for his life during the incident.
"How many stories are we going to have to deal with to understand that this is beyond implicit bias, this is just bias," Perkins said. "This is just a racial undertone that has permeated, I believe, that department for many many decades."
A representative of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office declined CBS Detroit's request for an interview but said in a statement that "the incident was investigated by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit (S.I.U.) and the Ingham County Sheriff's Office. Both entities found that the actions of the Deputy Sheriffs were objectively reasonable under the circumstances."