Mother of teen killed in GSP chase says state has not responded to lawsuit notice

ATLANTA - The mother of a teenager killed earlier this year during a police chase involving a Georgia State Patrol trooper says she has notified the state that she intends to sue but has not yet received a response.

What we know:

Kate Schoenke, the mother of Cooper Schoenke, said the notice was sent to the state in September, giving Georgia 90 days to respond. That deadline is expected to expire at the end of this month. So far, she said, she has heard nothing.

Schoenke said the lawsuit is not about money but about pushing for changes to pursuit policies as she prepares for her first Christmas without her son.

Cooper Schoenke was killed in April in Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood. Investigators say Faduma Mohamed ran a red light at McLendon and Moreland Avenues while being chased, leading to the deadly crash.

Investigators said the Georgia State Patrol pursued Mohamed for several miles before the collision. Prosecutors said the chase happened while Mohamed was out on bond in other cases involving armed robbery and kidnapping.

In September, on what would have been Cooper’s 20th birthday, Schoenke notified the state that she intended to sue for $1 million.

The notice alleges the trooper "acted with reckless disregard for proper law enforcement procedures by pursuing Ms. Mohamed at high speeds through the congested Little Five Points area. It was entirely predictable and foreseeable to any reasonable law enforcement officer that the fleeing Ms. Mohamed would accelerate her flight, run a red light, and violently strike and kill Cooper."

Georgia State Patrol officials said the agency does not comment on intended or pending litigation.

RELATED:

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• 19-year-old killed in Little Five Points crash; victim, suspect identified
• Friends mourn 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke, calls for police pursuit policy reform
• Advocates call for end to high-speed chases after deadly Little Five Points crash
• Mother of teen killed during chase into Little Five Points speaks out
• Bond denied for driver charged in fatal L5P crash during police chase
• Deadly Little Five Points crash: Felony murder charges for accused woman

What they're saying:

With Christmas approaching, Schoenke said her home is decorated for the holidays, though the season is filled with mixed emotions as she remembers her son.

"On Christmas, Cooper would always walk around with a garbage bag and say put the paper in there as like a joke," she said. "Christmas is always a big thing. We’ve never done a Christmas apart. Still have a stocking for him, putting things in there because it’s hard not shop for him and get little things."

Schoenke said the state has 90 days to respond after being notified, a period that ends later this month. She said she is shocked she has not heard anything yet and said her goal is to get the Georgia State Patrol to change its pursuit policy.

"It's not a money grab. It's the only way that we can force the hand of, you know, That they're going to do something about this," Schoenke said. "I'm really hoping that they make the right choices and want to sit and talk with me and not make this a political issue. I'm not trying to defund the police. I'm not trying to hinder them. I am trying to make everything more safe for everyone."

What's next:

Schoenke said she intends to file the lawsuit within the next 30 days.