Family of driver fatally shot by Memphis police files $35M wrongful death lawsuit
By
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – The family of Timothy Cook has filed a $35 million federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Memphis, the Memphis Police Department, and two officers following Cook’s fatal shooting in Orange Mound.
Cook died June 16, 2025, days after being shot during an encounter with Memphis police officers in a Park Avenue liquor store parking lot on June 13.
The lawsuit, originally filed in Shelby County Circuit Court by Latasha Fitzgerald—the administrator of Cook’s estate—was removed to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on Sept. 23, 2026. It names MPD Officers Timothy J. Davis and Terrianus Hall as defendants alongside the city and department.
According to the complaint, surveillance video from the liquor store shows Cook’s truck pulling away from a parking stall at a low speed to avoid a police cruiser. The lawsuit alleges that as the truck moved away, one officer appeared to fall, got up, and began running after the vehicle, while officers fired multiple rounds from behind through the truck’s rear passenger window and windshield. Cook’s vehicle then collided with another car and crashed into a bus stop.
Cook suffered gunshot wounds to the back of his head and back, according to autopsy findings cited in court filings that classified his death as a homicide. The complaint argues the officers lacked reasonable suspicion for the stop and used excessive, objectively unreasonable deadly force against a vehicle moving away that posed no imminent threat. The suit also cites the U.S. Department of Justice’s December 2024 findings regarding MPD’s pattern of unconstitutional conduct, including firing at moving vehicles.
The estate is seeking $15 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages.
At the time of the shooting, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported Cook had rammed into an officer before being shot. Court records also showed Cook had nine outstanding warrants, with several felonies related to reckless driving and evading arrest, as well as a 2016 aggravated assault charge.
The recent shooting sparked renewed frustration among Orange Mound community leaders, who have voiced ongoing concerns over neighborhood crime and gun violence.
About Post Author
