Man charged over wife’s death after he stopped her driving drunk and she was hit by car
Husband says surveillance footage shows he was not responsible amid claims of ‘malicious prosecution’
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
An Alabama man has reportedly sued a police department for arresting him after stopping his allegedly drunk wife, who was hit by a motorist, from driving home.
Jason Todd, 42, was charged with manslaughter over his wife, Tonya Anderson’s, death in August 2018. She was walking along the northbound shoulder of Highway 31 when she was fatally hit.
She had wanted to drive home but Mr Todd refused to allow it, as reported by AL.com.
Police in Canton, Alabama, accused him of throwing away her keys following an argument in front of Friends Steakhouse in Clanton, Alabama, as evidence for the manslaughter charge.
His lawsuit, which was filed against the Clanton Police Department (CPD), says surveillance footage from the steakhouse parking lot shows the husband and wife searching for an item in the car.
At no point did he throw the keys away, forcing his 35-year-old wife to walk home along Highway 31, it was reported.
Her keys were later found a distance away from the Friends Steakhouse, and where according to AL.com, Mr Todd was performing with his band that night.
His lawsuit also says CPD investigators interrogated him and “continuously berated and screamed” at him, “trying to guilt him into confessing to something he didn’t do”.
That allegedly included forcing him to look at images of the crash site.
David Hicks, a CPD officer, is the last remaining defendant named in the lawsuit, after a US District Court judge dismissed another officer and the City of Clanton from the lawsuit in April, AL.com reported.
He is accused of “lacking” a “probable cause” when charging Mr Todd, and faces charges of malicious prosecution, according to court records seen the news website.
He has denied the charges, and The Independent could not reach Mr Hicks for comment.
A jury selection for the trial against Mr Hicks is reportedly scheduled for 27 February 2023.