ATLANTA — A grieving mother has filed a lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Public Safety after her 19-year-old son was killed during a police chase last year.
The lawsuit alleges reckless disregard in connection with the April 2025 crash that killed Cooper Schoenke.
According to investigators, Schoenke was driving in Little Five Points when Faduma Mohamed, who was fleeing a state trooper on Interstate 20, exited onto Moreland Avenue, ran a red light and crashed into his car.
Police say Mohamed was driving upward of 100 miles per hour at the time. She remains jailed in DeKalb County awaiting trial.
After her son’s death, Kate Schoenke said she wanted to see changes in law enforcement pursuit policies. She later filed suit against the state agency, demanding changes to how police conduct chases.
Speaking last summer to the Atlanta City Council, Schoenke said the crash could have been prevented.
“I do hold the woman that was driving 100% accountable, those were her actions, but there were also actions that could have prevented this,” Schoenke said.
She also told council members, “I understand the weight of their job, but there needs to be some oversight.”
The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution urging the state to amend pursuit policies to limit chases to specific cases, though that action was largely symbolic. So far, the Department of Public Safety has not amended its procedures.
Several nearby jurisdictions, including the city of Atlanta, have “zero-chase” policies in place for local police. Instead of pursuing suspects, officers are encouraged to use alternative methods such as surveillance, license plate tracking and warrants.
Schoenke said there should be limits on pursuits, especially in busy areas like Little Five Points.
“80 miles per hour down that road, heavily populated, it’s just not the first time this has happened, I’d love it to be the last,” she said.
She also said, “There’s no other option for this sort of chase, except for a crash.”
Some state lawmakers are now pushing for changes to pursuit policies statewide, but the state patrol has not revised its procedures.
A recent national study found that over a six-year period, more than 3,300 people died in police pursuits in the United States, an average of nearly two deaths per day.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.
