SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The Arizona Department of Child Safety is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit that alleges the agency failed to protect two brothers from abuse.
In January 2022, 11-year-old Chaskah Davis Smith was found at a Scottsdale extended-stay hotel near Old Town Scottsdale with injuries. He did not survive.
His brother survived but suffered severe trauma, according to a lawsuit filed against the agency earlier this year.
The brothers were living with their grandmother at the time. She and her partner now face first-degree murder and child abuse charges.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against both of them. They have both pleaded not guilty.
The lawsuit claims DCS received seven reports over four years, raising concerns for the boys’ safety but never removed them from the home.
“We have this department for one reason and one reason only, and that is to protect children. And right now, our children aren't being protected,” Matthew Boatman, attorney for the surviving brother, told ABC15 in an interview earlier this year.
In court filings, DCS said its investigators have qualified immunity protections that allow them to exercise professional judgment.
A Maricopa County judge will now decide whether to dismiss the case.
Email ABC15 Reporter Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X.
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