A federal appeals court has ruled against a man’s effort to revive a lawsuit against the city of Portland, in which he alleged the city was at fault for his son’s death in 2020.

John Cohen of Colorado sued the city in 2021, a year after 25-year-old Eric Cohen died of hypothermia and drowning after swimming into Back Cove.

Eric Cohen had run into the water while being pursued by a Portland police officer who was called to the area because Cohen was beating his girlfriend. The young man had a history of mental health struggles.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in November, finding that John Cohen didn’t offer enough evidence for a jury to reasonably find that the city was at fault for Eric Cohen’s death. The father appealed that ruling to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston almost immediately.

The court ruled against that appeal Thursday.

“We are pleased the 1st Circuit agreed with the District Court finding the city and its first responders did not violate Mr. Cohen’s rights,” said Kasia Park, the city’s lawyer. “The fact that the 1st Circuit issued its decision so quickly, less than two months after the argument, speaks volumes about the lack of merit to these claims. While we’re pleased with the outcome from the court, we again recognize this was a tragedy and send condolences to the family of Eric Cohen for their loss.”

An attorney for Cohen said Monday that the decision was disappointing.

“Clearly Mr. Cohen was experiencing a mental health crisis and his death could and should have been prevented,” Verne Paradie said in an email.

Paradie had to prove that officers’ actions contributed to Eric Cohen’s death. He tried to argue that statements by police and their training created the danger that led to Cohen’s death.

The 1st Circuit said to reach these conclusions, a jury would have to rely on “increasingly speculative inferences.”

The appeals court said officers who arrived to the scene after Eric Cohen entered the water “fell short of the aspirations behind” their “protect and serve” motto.

“That being said, this appeal turns on whether any defendant violated Cohen’s constitutional rights,” the court wrote. “And for the foregoing reasons, the answer is clearly no.”

John Cohen’s attorney tried to argue that Eric Cohen, who was in the water, was afraid to come back to shore after potentially hearing one officer tell other emergency responders “tell him we’re gonna kick his ass if he gets out of that water.”

John Cohen has argued that statement was picked up on body cameras, but the officer denied saying that in court records.

During oral arguments with the 1st Circuit court in June, an attorney for the city argued that no one forced Eric Cohen into the water. The young man swam in while he was being pursued by an officer who was 150 feet behind him, Park said during oral arguments in June.

“Yes, they were chasing him because he had just committed a domestic violence assault, but they did not corner him,” Park said.