Nationwide — Lemichael Wilson, an African American man from Memphis, Tennessee, has filed a federal complaint after a photo of his late mother appeared on her phone. He says the image violated her dignity and raises questions about how the police handled her body and the scene.
Wilson’s mother, 69-year-old Laujaneese Wilson Tannon, was found dead on July 1 at her home in Orange Mound. Emergency responders attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examiner later determined that she died from a pulmonary embolism.
Days later, Wilson says a disturbing image appeared on her iPhone as a “memory” photo. The image reportedly showed a woman lying on a bed in underwear with electrode pads on her back, according to Action News 5.
Memphis police said the photo was taken accidentally while a lieutenant tried to access her phone to find next of kin and that it was deleted immediately afterward. However, Wilson says phone records show the image was captured four minutes after he had already spoken with an officer about his mother’s death.
Wilson was later shown a short portion of body camera footage in December. He says the clip only lasts about 10 seconds and shows an officer taking the photo and attempting to delete it. He is now calling for full transparency and a complete release of all related footage.
“Why was my mother’s dignity not protected in her final moment? Why has the city of Memphis refused to release the full body footage of all responding officers? Were the pictures even shared? But it is so about more than my family, it is about the principle every human being deserves to be treated with dignity,” Wilson said.
Wilson has filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District. He is seeking damages for emotional distress, a ruling that the actions were unconstitutional, and full release of all body camera footage from the incident.
The Memphis Police Department says its Internal Affairs Bureau reviewed the case and cleared the officer of wrongdoing. A media request for the body cam footage was also denied due to an ongoing investigation, though it has since been resubmitted.