Deputies kill homeowner during raid seeking brother-in-law, wife says in $8M lawsuit
Law enforcement shot and killed a homeowner during a raid seeking the man’s brother-in-law, who was staying at his house, a lawsuit says.
His wife, Vickie Wright, now has filed an $8 million wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The May 10 lawsuit names Sevier County, the city of Sevierville and six law enforcement officers who Wright says were involved in the raid the evening of May 12, 2023, that ended with her 63-year-old husband dead.
McClatchy News reached out on May 13 to the municipalities and individuals named in the lawsuit and did not receive a response.
Multi-agency operation
On May 12, 2023, an officer with the Sevierville Police Department attempted to pull over Vickie Wright’s brother, who was accused of driving with a suspended license, according to the lawsuit.
The man, identified as Daryl Higdon, did not stop, and a pursuit ended “due to traffic conditions,” the lawsuit said.
Then the Sevierville Police Department and the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office organized a joint operation to arrest Higdon, who was living with his sister and her husband, David Wright, according to the lawsuit.
Six law enforcement officers and a police dog converged on the Wrights’ home and spotted the brother on the back porch, according to the lawsuit. He went inside the house, and officers went around the front door and demanded entry, the suit said.
David Wright opened the door for the officers, then his brother-in-law retrieved a shotgun and came back to the door with the barrel pointed at the ceiling, according to the lawsuit.
Officers drew their weapons, and they and Wright told Higdon to put the gun down, but the man refused, the lawsuit said.
Shooting broke out, then the Wrights ran into their bedroom as officers and the family member exchanged gunfire, Vickie Wright said.
They sheltered in their bedroom as law enforcement fired “indiscriminately” into the home, according to the lawsuit.
Eventually the shooting stopped, and a deputy told the Wrights, who were unarmed, that they could come out through the front door, according to the lawsuit.
Then a deputy is accused of shooting David Wright in the head.
Vickie Wright said she was also struck by a fragment of the bullet that killed her husband, but then she was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car without medical attention, according to the lawsuit.
Higdon was arrested and charged once he was released from the hospital, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
‘Shocking to the conscience’
The Sevier County District Attorney’s Office investigated the shooting and found the deputy believed Higdon was coming through the door, not David Wright, WATE reported.
None of the law enforcement officers were disciplined or charged, according to WVLT.
In the lawsuit, Vickie Wright said the officers between the two agencies failed to coordinate and communicate effectively.
“And even among themselves, the (sheriff’s office) officers were not reasonably or adequately communicating,” the lawsuit says. “One (sheriff’s office) officer shot and killed David Wright moments after another officer asked Mr. Wright a question and asked him to come out of the house.”
The lawsuit says that none of them, “from the least to the most experienced officer,” had been adequately trained.
She called their actions “shocking to the conscience” and said they violated her and her husband’s constitutional rights.
The lawsuit seeks $5 million in compensatory damages for David Wright’s death and $3 million in compensatory damages for Vickie Wright’s injuries.
Sevier County is in eastern Tennessee, about a 30-mile drive southeast from Knoxville.
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