Cop Sent Intimate Texts and Scrolled TikTok as Man Suffered from Overdose in Police Car, Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims

An Oregon family is suing the City of Coos Bay and three of its police officers, saying they failed to help a man who was overdosing on meth.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, Aug. 6, says 33-year-old Nathan Bradford Smith was in the back of a parked patrol car when he started showing clear signs of a meth overdose. Instead of getting him medical help, one officer stayed inside the police station, texting about “snuggles” and watching TikTok videos.

The suit claims Officers Benjamin Martin, Tristan Smith, and Wesley O’Connor ignored Nathan’s medical emergency after arresting him on July 7, 2024. Nathan, who had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was later found unconscious in the car and died at a local hospital. His cause of death was listed as “hyperthermia due to methamphetamine intoxication.” The heavy clothing he wore may have made the overheating worse.

Three Police Encounters in One Day
Records show police ran into Nathan three times that day.

• 11 a.m. – Officers took a meth pipe from him during an unrelated investigation.
• 3 p.m. – Police warned him they would arrest him if he scared people again after a report of him yelling outside a business.
• 5 p.m. – Officers found him lying on a sidewalk near a Motel 6. He was wearing a heavy coat and rain pants, breathing hard, and refusing to stand up.

They arrested him and put him in the back of Officer Martin’s car. The lawsuit says Nathan’s eyes were closed and he was gasping for air. Martin even stopped to spray air freshener in the car before driving to the station with the windows closed.

Ignored While Officer Was on His Phone
When Martin arrived at the station, he left Nathan in the car and went inside. It was about 65 degrees outside, but the closed car quickly heated up. Inside, Martin texted someone about missing them and liked several TikTok videos.

By the time Martin came back, Nathan was unconscious. Narcan, a drug that can reverse overdoses, was given, and paramedics were called. Nathan’s temperature was 107°F when medics arrived at 5:24 p.m. He went into cardiac arrest and died at 6:25 p.m.

The lawsuit says if Nathan had been taken directly to the hospital—just a mile away—he could have received lifesaving treatment 40 minutes earlier.

Family Speaks Out
Nathan’s father, Kurt Smith, said his son had been living at the motel and that he had seen him a week before his death. He only learned the cause of death from the funeral home.

“He didn’t deserve to just be left to die,” Kurt said.

No criminal charges were filed after the investigation. The family is seeking damages for negligence, abuse of a vulnerable person, and “deliberate indifference.”