NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It happened in a split second. An inmate shot and killed at Nashville's Hundred Oaks Mall, after attacking a deputy with a screwdriver and another deputy's gun.
Now, more than two years later questions remain - and one man wants answers.
MORE: Suspect Killed After Corrections Officer Shot At 100 Oaks
A multi-million-dollar federal lawsuit targets the Robertson County Sheriff's Department accusing deputies of negligence and excessive force. Many will remember the incident -- June of 2017 -- when inmate Rodney Cole was shot thirteen times after he attacked a Robertson County deputy with a screw driver.
Cole's father filed the lawsuit saying it never should have happened and could have been prevented. "My son would still be living today if they done it right," said Cole.
It was a violent confrontation that started with a trip to a medical clinic. Deputies had taken the 37-year-old Cole -- his hands and feet shackled -- for a doctor's visit at 100 Oaks.
Inside a restroom there, Cole pulled a screwdriver and attacked Deputy Josh Wiley. Wiley's partner Deputy Tomisha Jones rushed in to help.
Investigators say Cole wrestled away her gun. then he and Wiley exchanged gunshots. Wiley was seriously injured and Cole died at the scene.
MORE: Robertson Co. Deputy Injured In One Hundreds Oaks Shooting Released From Hospital
"They had to use excessive force. They shot him 13 times. They found 17 bullets. He had 13 holes in his body," Cole said.
A Metro police investigation found that Cole planned the attack and hid the screwdriver in a makeshift holster, a weapon investigators say was missed by the deputies.
"They didn't do their job right," said Cole.
He points to a Metro report that found his son was not properly patted down by Deputy Wiley. The frisk before transport included Cole's shoulders, underarms, sides of the torso, outer legs, and inner thighs, but did not appear to include the front or back of his torso -- so the screwdriver was missed.
"I'm not making no excuses for my son, but I know they was wrong. They did not follow proper protocol. It is negligence. It is overkill," said Cole.
Cole's father concedes his son -- who had a long criminal history -- attacked the deputies. But he suing because had proper procedure been followed with such a dangerous inmate, he says his son would still be alive today.
NewsChannel 5 reached out for comment from the Robertson County attorney, but so far have not received a response.
