TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – A Florida woman is suing the City of Tampa, alleging its police failed to trap a fleeing suspect who later crashed into her.
Amy Dery filed suit June 6 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court over an incident that occurred on June 13, 2021. The complaint says Tampa police were pursuing robbery suspect Travis Almonte in the Seminole Hard Rock Casino parking garage.
“The suspect (drove) past several police vehicles with their lights flashing, which lightly interfered with the suspect’s ability to drive in or out of the entrances and exits,” the suit says. “Defendant failed in its botched attempt to confine the suspect’s vehicle inside of the parking garage.”
A chase featuring a helicopter and a spike strip ensued. Dery said she stopped on an exit on I-4 for gas and was held by law enforcement for 10 minutes.
Cones blocked the entry ramp, so she did a U-turn on McIntosh road to take a different route to a cleaning job, she says. When she did, she was T-boned by Almonte, who had hit the spike strip, she says.
The suit blames Tampa PD for alerting Almonte cops were chasing him and for failing to detain him at the casino. Dery is represented by Byron Longworth and Kimberly Houndji.