Defendants answer lawsuit in fatal officer-involved shooting in Davenport

A response to a lawsuit from the family of a man shot and killed by a Davenport Police Officer in 2021 has been filed in U. S. District Court.

Nicole Klum, individually and as administrator of the estate of Bobby Jo Klum, and Wanda Albright, individually, have filed suit against the City of Davenport and Mason Roth. The defendants answered the lawsuit in a response filed July 19 in the Southern District of Iowa – Eastern Division, court records show.

Defendants respond to the lawsuit.

The city and Roth “deny Plaintiffs are entitled recovery,” and other allegations because Roth’s actions were determined “to be justified and reasonable under the circumstances by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Scott County Attorney’s Office and the Davenport Police Department,” court records say.

Nicole Klum is the widow of the Bobby Jo Klum, and Wanda Albright is his mother.

Earlier, officials have said Roth shot Klum on Oct. 13, 2021, because he “reasonably believed that Klum presented a danger to others and that Klum died as a result,” and that Klum was holding a gun to his own head at the time he was shot.

The Scott County’s Attorney’s Office earlier said that Roth’s decision to use deadly force was “justified and reasonable under the circumstances.”

In the response, the defendants say that Roth “used force because Klum was advancing toward a group of bystanders and that he reasonably believed Klum posed an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to the bystanders, including the risk that Klum would take a bystander hostage.”

They say in the suit that “it is unknown whether Klum ever pointed the gun at anyone other than himself because he was not observed at all times during the incident.”

In the response to the family’s lawsuit, in court documents the defendants say Roth’s actions “were determined to be justified and reasonable under the circumstances by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Scott County Attorney’s Office and the Davenport Police Department.”

Court records show the defendants ask that the court dismiss all counts of the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, with all costs assessed to the plaintiff and “all other relief the Court deems appropriate.” They also demand a jury trial.

The incident in 2021

Bobby Jo Klum, 37, died on Oct. 13, 2021, his fatal wound coming from a single shot fired from an AR-15 by Davenport Officer Mason Roth, an official report shows. 

In the report prepared by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, investigators walked through the events leading up to Klum’s death:

An officer first went to 806 Iowa Street to take Klum into custody, for a warrant for a sex-offender registry violation as well as a “fail to stop” traffic violation from the previous day in Rock Island, the report says.

The report says the suspect ran off when the officer knocked on the door. The officer gave chase and advised Klum he had a warrant for his arrest. The report says when the officer caught up to Klum in the 900 block of East 9^th Street, Klum had a gun to his head, refusing to drop the gun and surrender, running into the neighborhood.   

The report’s legal conclusion says: “Klum was told to stop, drop the weapon and that he was under arrest at least ten times.”

Investigators say less lethal weapons were used against Klum with no effect. The conclusion states Klum turned and crossed the street in the direction of onlookers after being struck with a less lethal weapon, according to the report.

At that point, Roth believed the individuals nearby were in danger. The report concludes that “actions by Bobby Jo Klum created the appearance that the lives and physical safety of numerous people were in immediate danger.”

Investigators later learned Klum was pointing a black Airsoft BB gun to his head. The report says Klum never told officers the gun he had was a BB gun. The report says Klum had several opportunities to advise officers it was a BB gun.

“For whatever reason, he chose not to, resulting in deadly and tragic consequences,” the report says.

‘I’m going to sue everybody.’

A few days after Klum’s death, his wife Nicole told Local 4 News she was trying to piece together what happened that day. “He was not going to go back to prison or jail for nobody,” she said. “If they were going to take him down, they’re going to take him down.” She reflected on her time spent with Bobby and what he meant to her. “I sure do miss him more than anything in the world,” she said. “That goes for all of his family.”

“I miss him, and they had no reason to do that. Just because he had a BB gun held to his temple,” Nicole said after Scott County Attorney Mike Walton’s decision. “I’m going to sue everybody. That was not right of them to do that. And they bruised him like crazy after they tossed and turned him around like a rag doll.”

“He had called me at my job, walking down Iowa Street, saying that he had his BB gun to his temple and that he loved me and always would,” she said. “What they did was wrong, and they know it. Why would you have to put handcuffs on him after he was already shot?”