NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The mother of a woman shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in November of 2021 has filed a lawsuit against the Metro Nashville Police Department.
The lawsuit claims the police department failed to protect Kimberly Jones-Mbuyi’s daughter, Michaela Carter, from her ex-boyfriend, James Leggett. Leggett allegedly shot Carter in the leg and chest at her Vanna Court home on Nov. 15, 2021, after he kicked her door in. Carter died from her injuries a few days later.
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According to the lawsuit, the police department reportedly failed to protect Carter from Leggett, despite Carter having an order of protection against him when she was killed. The order of protection was originally filed in July 2021 after Leggett allegedly beat her with a glass bottle, the lawsuit said.
On the day of the shooting, Leggett was reportedly out looking for Carter at a family member’s apartment building. He also was reportedly carrying a gun, violating Carter’s order of protection, as well as state and federal criminal law prohibiting a convicted felon from carrying a firearm.
On the day Carter was shot, Leggett reportedly published several “ominous” posts on Facebook, saying “Today is the day” and “Somebody with nothing to lose won’t give a f*** When S*** gets real don’t ask me why.”
The lawsuit goes on to say Carter called 911 and showed the social media posts to the responding officers, asking them to arrest Leggett. It also accuses the officers of “falsely [asserting] that they could not arrest [Leggett] based on the information they had been provided, and they inaccurately instructed Ms. Carter that she would have to ‘go downtown’ to swear out a warrant if she wanted [Leggett] to be prosecuted.”
The officers then reportedly escorted Carter home, cleared the scene and left. The lawsuit alleges Leggett then showed up at Carter’s home “approximately ten minutes” after the officers left, kicked in the door and shot her multiple times.
Jones-Mbuyi’s attorney issued the following statement to News 2:
“After her estranged husband beat her with a glass liquor bottle, Michaela Carter did everything that she was supposed to do and relied on the MNPD to protect her. Instead, they got her killed. The MNPD’s deeply disturbing and predictably fatal negligence in this case—which the MNPD dishonestly attempted to cover up after they got Ms. Carter murdered—cries out for accountability so that a preventable death like this never happens again.”
Click here to read the full lawsuit.
