PORTLAND (WGME) — The father of a Portland man who drowned in the Back Cove in 2020 and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Portland and a Portland firefighter is now filing an appeal after the suit was dismissed.
According to the Portland Press herald, a federal judge found the suit filed by John Cohen, the father of Eric Cohen, didn’t raise enough evidence for a jury to consider the allegations.
According to police, Eric Cohen, who had a history of mental health issues, beat his girlfriend unconscious and assaulted a bystander after the couple got into an argument while walking down Marginal Way in April 2020.
They say Eric Cohen then fled from police, crossed I-295, stripped naked, and jumped into the frigid 41-degree water.
The wrongful death suit claimed first responders could have acted faster to save his life while they waited for the city’s fireboat to arrive.