Family Of Black Man Shot By White Metro Officer Sues City For $30 Million

The family of a black man who was shot and killed by a white Metro police officer is suing the city for $30 million, according to a complaint filed in federal court Monday. The suit blames the Nashville police for the death, claiming the department is racially biased.

The lawsuit was brought by two attorneys representing the family of Daniel Hambrick, who was killed by Metro Officer Andrew Delke last July as Hambrick was fleeing the officer.

Joy Kimbrough, one of the attorneys, says this suit is large because it isn’t just about the officer who shot Hambrick. It’s about the entire police department. 

“To put it in a nutshell, Metro is responsible for Delke,” said Kimbrough. “We think this is beyond misconduct.” 

She adds that the $30 million is only for punitive damages.

“We’re also asking for additional damages. We’re asking for nominal damages, compensatory damages, attorney fees and costs. We’re asking for $30 million at a minimum.” 

Over the 34-page filing, Kimbrough and the other attorney on the case, Kyle Mothershead, unfurl a long list of claims against the police and Delke. They include excessive force, wrongful death and a pattern of racial discrimination.

The suit also cites the department’s use of a controversial textbook, titled 
The Tactical Edge. The book says minorities are disproportionately associated with criminal violence and tells officers that most police training will always fall short of what is needed to stay alive on the job.

The book 
was dropped from the police academy’s curriculum after 
a WPLN report in 2017, but it was still being used when Delke went through training. The lawsuit claims Delke read his copy of
 The Tactical Edge and “internalized the beliefs articulated therein.”

To support its claims of racial bias, the suit claims the MNPD uses racial profiling in traffic stops and roadside searches. It also alleges that the department disciplines its white officers less often than black officers, and punishes officers who speak out against the department. It claims these policies and practices shaped Delke as an officer and are ultimately what led to him fatally shooting Hambrick.    

The Metro police department said the lawsuit contains a “plethora of misinformation.” It notes that the department’s training academy is accredited by an international agency, gives six months of training to new recruits and has “an ever expanding and evolving curriculum” for its training program.

“The Metropolitan Police Department takes strong issue with this inflammatory attack on the department as a whole, our officers and our training academy,” the department said in a statement.

In a statement, the Fraternal Order of Police said, “All of the wild and reckless claims in this lawsuit can’t change the fact that Daniel Hambrick was a dangerous and violent convicted felon, running from police, who threatened the life of an officer and forced that officer to defend himself.”

In September, Delke
 was charged with first-degree murder in the case. He is the first Nashville officer to face such charges for an on-duty shooting. He pleaded not guilty, claiming he shot in self-defense. Delke said Hambrick was carrying a gun.