Officials have issued a response after TikTok star Emilie Kiser filed a lawsuit following her three-year-old son’s tragic drowning death.
Tragedy struck the 26-year-old's family when her son, Trigg, died following a drowning accident at the family’s Arizona home.
The heartbreaking incident occurred on May 12, when Chandler Police responded to a call at her residence, located roughly 25 miles outside of Phoenix. Trigg was found unresponsive after falling into the backyard pool.
Officers performed CPR at the scene before paramedics transported the toddler to Chandler Regional Hospital. He was later airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where he died from his injuries on May 18 - six days after the accident.
Kiser has filed a lawsuit against several Maricopa County public offices in an effort to block the release of records related to her son’s death, describing the exposure as an overwhelming invasion of privacy.
“Emilie is going through a parent’s worst nightmare right now,” the lawsuit reads. “She lost her young son.” It adds: “Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle.”
She filed the suit on May 27, naming multiple agencies, including the city of Chandler, the Chandler Police Department, and Maricopa County.
In it, her legal team emphasized the intense media attention and the need for the family to grieve in peace. “Emilie and her family desperately want to grieve in private, but sadly, the public will not let them. Trigg’s death has become a media frenzy,” the suit states, per NBC News.
The lawsuit further argues that “disclosure of graphic or intimate death-related records causes renewed trauma to surviving family members and violates their right to grieve privately".
Kiser has not reviewed any of the materials being requested through public records channels, which include police reports, bodycam footage, security video, and autopsy documents.
According to the outlet, over 100 public records requests have been filed since the accident.
Jason Berry, director of communications for Maricopa County, responded to the suit, confirming that when officials “learned the family was pursuing a court order to prevent the release of these records, the Office of the Medical Examiner worked with the family to place a seal on the record".
He added that the pending lawsuit will determine whether a permanent seal will be placed, but the preemptive seal allows the court to make that call without further public exposure in the meantime.
Chandler Police echoed similar sentiments in their own statement: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the child's family and loved ones during this unimaginable time."
"The investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident remains ongoing. This is still an open investigation. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we will not be releasing additional details until the investigation is closed," they added.