‘Why did they stand there and watch?’ Family of drowned teen intends to sue Sunrise police
Tequila Waters got the worse news a parent could hear on March 8.
Her eldest son, 16-year-old Damain Martin, was dead. But while dealing with her own grief and trying to explain his death to her other five children, she also questioned the role of police in her son’s death. The Fort Lauderdale teen died after jumping into a canal as Sunrise police were chasing him.
Sunrise police “met with me one time when it first happened. They told me they can’t tell me nothing,” Waters said Thursday morning.
Nearly 10 months after his death, his family, joined by attorneys and community organizers, announced they would sue Sunrise police.
“Attorney [Sue-Ann] Robinson and I plan to make sure that we help this family get answers,” attorney Benjamin Crump, standing on the bank of the Lauderhill canal where Martin drowned, told the media.
Crump represented the family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old from Miami Gardens who was fatally shot in Sanford in 2012.
Sunrise police did not immediately respond to a telephone message from the Herald.
The details surrounding Damain Martin’s death are murky. According to the Sunrise police’s internal affairs investigation, the teen was among four males who fled when officers attempted to contact them about a stolen vehicle. While three of them were taken into police custody, Martin ended up jumping into the canal near the 1700 block of Northwest 57th Terrace in Lauderhill and drowned.
Although police investigators ruled the death an “accidental drowning,” the family and its attorneys contend two Sunrise police officers stood by as Martin battled for his life. The disposition of the case involving the three others is not clear.
“Why did they stand there and watch him go under not once, not twice but three times without entering the canal to try to save his life?” Crump asked.
Her voice cracking, Martin’s great aunt struggled to express her heartache.
“I can’t understand why people’s hearts are so cold that they’d let a human being pass away,” said Clara Smith, among dozens of people wearing “Justice 4 Damain” shirts.
Under Florida Statute 768.28, the affected parties are entitled to damages for any “death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission” of any state employee. The officers’ inaction, attorney Robinson says, is why Waters has chosen to sue.
“First responders have a duty to respond and that’s exactly what police officers are,” Robinson said. “... The police officers in this case failed that duty.”
Both Robinson and Crump said they have spoken to witnesses who have reinforced their suspicions that Martin’s death was “completely preventable.” They, along with others attending Thursday’s press conference, maintained the 16-year-old was “sweet,” “studious” and a “good swimmer,” and would be alive today if he weren’t black.
“Our children’s lives matter also,” said Marsha Ellison, president of the NAACP’s Fort Lauderdale/Broward branch, who spoke at the press conference. “We don’t deserve any less justice.”
Waters says the lack of transparency from the police only cemented her belief they were keeping her family in the dark. Martin’s friends, not Sunrise police or any other law enforcement agency, told her of her son’s passing, she said.
“They’re supposed to be serving and protecting right?” Waters asked. “I don’t see no serving or protecting in that order right there with my son.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 4:47 PM.
