SEATTLE — A Lake Stevens man is suing the city of Seattle for an alleged drunken driving collision that involved a city-owned car and an off-duty undercover cop.
In October, Scott Pratt was driving with his son in Mukilteo when they were involved in a crash with another vehicle.
The driver of the other car was John Fox, an undercover police detective. He was driving a city of Seattle-owned car during the incident.
According to officials, Fox was charged with drunken driving.
The city refused to pay for Pratt and his son’s injuries because Fox was off duty during the collision so the city doesn’t have to pay.
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Deborah Horne spoke with Pratt about the lawsuit.
“It feels like your butt goes out and your back get arched. It’s like, oh, crap. I can’t move, you know, or the next morning I’d wake up and I can’t move my neck,” Pratt said. “This was just clear negligence and this should have been dealt with quickly and swiftly, and I don’t see it. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
Late in July, attorney Stuart Brown sued the city.
“This whole thing is preposterous,” Brown said. “Never mind that he was driving a city of Seattle vehicle. He had loaded weapons on the front seat. He was obviously inebriated significantly. He had a previous DUI, so I was just stunned.”
“Here we are victimized by someone who should have been protecting people, but yet was out being reckless,” Pratt said.
Mukilteo prosecutors told KIRO 7 that Fox will be back in court in Snohomish County next Tuesday.
KIRO
