Lorenzen Wright's Ex Sues Police Over 911 Call
Ex-NBA player Lorenzen Wright's murder remains unsolved a year after his shocking death. But now, his ex-wife and his mother are suing the police department that handled Lorenzen Wright's 911 call. The lawsuits are separate, and in part allege that the police departments of the Germantown and Collierville, Tennessee, were negligent in handling the phone call.
According to Wright's ex, Sherra Robinson Wright, the NBA star was supposed to visit her house on July 18, 2010, to visit his six children, but never showed.
Early in the morning on July 19, the 911 dispatcher for the City of Germantown received a 911 call from Wright. The 911 dispatcher heard a garbled expletive and the sound of up to 10 gunshots, reports Courthouse News Service.
One of the 911 dispatchers then hung up on the phone call to handle the police radio, while another dispatcher tried to call Wright back on his cell phone. There was no response, according to Courthouse News Service.
According to the federal complaints, the dispatchers did not report this call to their supervisors. Wright's mother reported him missing by his mother four days later. Police found his decomposed body on July 28th. Wright had weighed 225 pounds at the time of his death, but his body only weighed 57 pounds after exposure to rain, heat, animals and insects in the wooded area where he was found, Courthouse News Service reports.
Wright's ex is seeking $2 million in damages, alleging due process violations, failure to train and negligence. Wright's mother, in a separate suit, is seeking $2 million in damages, and is alleging negligence, gross negligence, wrongful death and mishandling a human corpse, the Courthouse News Service reports.
Was this negligent behavior on behalf of the police department?
Maybe.
Were the dispatchers trained improperly considering their handling of Lorenzen Wright's 911 call? Did the training manuals or training programs advise them on what to do in these types of situations, or mandate that they refer these calls to the police department? Lorenzen Wright's murder remains unsolved, while police are offering $6,000 to anybody who can help with the case.
Related Resources:
- Lorenzen Wright's Ex Wife Files Lawsuit (WREG-TV)
- Proving Fault: What is Negligence? (FindLaw)
- Ex-NBA Star Lorenzen Wright Found Dead (FindLaw Blotter)
- Comcast Sued Over Bungled Emergency Call (FindLaw's Injured)
