Lawsuit alleges fired Ranlo Police officer was negligent in wreck

A lawsuit against a former Ranlo Police officer and the town of Ranlo alleges that the officer was speeding when he crossed the double yellow line and wrecked into another driver last year.

The lawsuit, which names 19-year-old Jacob Logan Nicholson as the plaintiff, stated that Nicholson was driving on Spencer Mountain Road on Jan. 15, 2022, when former Officer Brandon Michael Avant, who was driving behind him, crossed the double yellow line in an attempt to pass Nicholson while driving at speeds in excess of 70 mph.

When Nicholson tried to turn left onto Park Drive, the two collided.

The original complaint, which was filed in February, erroneously states that the crash killed Nicholson, but The Gazette located Nicholson, who confirmed that he is in fact alive but said he was hospitalized after the wreck. He referred further questions to his attorney, Robert J. Herford of Ted A. Greve & Associates.

Avant was fired from the Ranlo Police Department on March 7, 2022. A final notice of dismissal states that he was fired for violating police department and town policy, but it does not say what policy he violated. The lawsuit alleges that Avant was negligent and asked for an unspecified amount of damages.

In a phone interview, Avant declined to comment.

In a response to the lawsuit, the town of Ranlo denied the allegations of negligence and instead said that Nicholson himself was negligent. The response states that Nicholson was driving recklessly and failed to keep a proper lookout and yield to Avant, who had his blue lights on and sirens blaring as he pursued another motorist.

Ranlo City Manager Jonathan Blanton declined to comment further.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Lawsuit alleges fired Ranlo Police officer was negligent in wreck