MARIETTA — The wife of a Cobb Police sergeant who died after a boating incident in April on Lake Allatoona hopes to recoup more than $1 million for the loss of her husband and funeral expenses, according to a civil lawsuit filed Monday in Paulding County Superior Court.

Named as defendants are Kenneth Reda, of Acworth, who was the driver of the boat and was also a Cobb Police sergeant before resigning after the incident; his wife, Melissa Reda; and his father-in-law, Albany resident Robert Carlson, who is believed to be the owner of the boat.

The suit, filed by Lori Stephens, claims that Kenneth Reda is responsible for Sgt. Brent Stephens’ death because Kenneth Reda was operating the fishing vessel “at an excessive and unsafe speed,” while under the influence of alcohol, and failed “to render assistance to Brent.”

It claims that Melissa Reda and her father are also responsible for the death because they allowed Kenneth Reda to operate the 1993 offshore boat named Little Miss Sunshine, “with knowledge that he was incompetent by reason of his physical or mental condition.”

Lori Stephens’ attorney, John Salter, of the Barnes Law Group in Marietta, said if a person owns a boat, he or she is responsible for making sure that anyone who uses it does so safely and is trained. Salter said Georgia law holds the owner of a boat liable if damage is caused during its use.

Kenneth Reda’s attorney, Marietta trial lawyer Jimmy Berry, said Monday that he had not seen the lawsuit and was unsure if his client had yet been served. As such, he declined to comment. Although Berry is representing Kenneth Reda in the ongoing criminal case, he said Monday he would recommend a different attorney to represent him for the civil suit.

On April 22, Kenneth Reda, 38, was operating the boat that held two passengers, Shelly Powell, 35, of Acworth, and Stephens, 35, of Douglasville. The three were traveling to Harbor Town Marina, off Galts Ferry Road in Acworth, after eating dinner at Props ‘n Hops restaurant on Victoria Landing Drive in Woodstock. Kenneth Reda hit a navigational marker, causing Brent Stephens to go overboard, according to the lawsuit and a Cherokee County Police report.

Kenneth Reda, who resigned May 7, initially said there was nothing that would’ve caused Brent Stephens to fall off the boat. He called 911 at about 10:30 p.m., which was roughly 90 minutes after police say he hit the navigational marker. He told the operator that his fellow Cobb officer and SWAT team member had likely jumped off the 22-foot, center console boat and that the two were the only ones on board the night of the incident. However, he later admitted in a report that he had dropped off Powell before calling 911.

Kenneth Reda also told the 911 operator that no alcohol was on the boat. But according to the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office report, Powell said she and Kenneth Reda cleaned off beer bottles from the boat before police arrived and put them in a trash bag, which she took home with her after Kenneth Reda dropped her off. The bag contained 13 bottles, according to the police report.

Kenneth Reda and Powell were arrested six days after the incident and charged with making false statements and obstruction.

As for why Kenneth Reda tried to hide the fact that Powell was on the boat, he states in the police report that Powell was stephens’ girlfriend, and Brent Stephens is married. However, Kenneth Reda later told case detective Lt. J. Gianfala that Brent Stephens was not “fooling around” with Powell and “apologized for misleading the investigation.”

Salter said about the incident, “Rather than immediately call 911 for his friend, Reda instructed Mrs. Powell to remove all the empty beer bottles, conspired to mislead law enforcement, falsely denied there was any alcohol on board, and lied to the 911 operator and the other first responders about what happened.”

According to the lawsuit, “The intent and purpose of Defendant Ken Reda’s pattern of obstruction, evidence tampering and deceit was to delay and avoid being subjected to meaningful and accurate test of is blood alcohol content—a test that is mandatory whenever a fatality is believed to have occurred as a result of a boating incident.”

Emergency crews searched Allatoona Lake for Brent Stephens throughout the night of April 22. His body was found the next afternoon.

“It is awful that Brent’s family spent hours hoping to find him alive when Reda knew the truth all along,” said Allison Salter, who is co-counsel for Lori Stephens. “… I know Brent and Lori because we all went to South Cobb High School and were around the same age. It might be a long legal journey, but our goal is to collect a substantial monetary judgment that will mitigate for Lori and her young children the loss of a brave officer and, to them, a really good husband and father.”

Lori Stephens is asking for no less than $1 million in damages for the full value of her husband’s life, and $10,000 to compensate her for Brent Stephens’ medical and funeral expenses. She also asks for a jury trial and any other relief the court deems appropriate.

John Salter said it is possible that boater’s insurance could cover some of the sought restitution, but he was unaware Monday of details regarding any insurance.

He expects to ask Kenneth and Melissa Reda about insurance during depositions he hopes to take on the couple on the 45th day after they receive the lawsuit. He also plans to ask about ownership of the boat, which he says remains unclear, though it was registered to Carlson. John Salter said if it is determined that Carlson is indeed owner of Little Miss Sunshine, Melissa Reda would likely be dropped from the suit.