Civil lawsuit filed against City of Cape Coral by family of man who died in a canal

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
lawsuit
Credit: The Cape Coral Police Department

The family of a Cape Coral man who was found dead in a canal after walking home intoxicated filed a lawsuit against the city for negligence.

The lawsuit filed by the family includes the Backstreets Bar and former Cape Coral Police officers Davis Rios and Joshua Morgan, along with the City of Cape Coral.

Jeremiah Ballam Jr., 22, was last seen leaving the Backstreets Bar at around 3:30 a.m. on March 13, 2022, before being found dead in a Cape Coral canal.

According to the Cape Coral Police Department, he ran into Officer Davis Rios and Officer Joshua Morgan while walking home from the bar.

Neither officer decided to intervene with Ballam after discovering him intoxicated and passed out in the roadway near Club Square after leaving the bar.

Ballam’s family believes he would have survived had the officers intervened and helped their son.

An internal investigation was conducted following the discovery of Ballam’s body on March 15, where “egregious policy violations” were discovered.

During a press conference held by Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore on April 29, 2022, both officers were relieved of duty for failing to execute proper protocol when encountering an intoxicated individual.

Watch the full press conference here.

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