Columbus City Council voted unanimously Monday to pay a total $1.7 million to settle two unrelated lawsuits that allege wrongdoing by city public safety employees — police and a 911 dispatcher in one case, and two paramedics in the other — that resulted in two deaths.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein’s office recommended the city settle one lawsuit for $1.1 million and the other for $600,000.
The $1.1 million would go to a widow who says city paramedics refused to transport her ailing husband to the hospital the day before he died.
The $600,000 goes to the mother of a woman who was shot and killed by her boyfriend in July 2019, a day after Columbus police responded to the couple’s North Linden home about a domestic violence call. The lawsuit states police did not confiscate the boyfriend’s guns despite the fact that he was a convicted felon and had beaten her.
Klein sent Mister Truth this statement Monday: “We, the City, negotiate within the parameters authorized by our client (in this instance, Public Safety), and any agreed settlement must be approved by City Council. These cases are vastly different but both were horrible situations. We know no amount of money can change what happened, but we hope the settlements are a step in the right direction.”
In the shooting death, Deputy Public Safety Director George Speaks said the officers and 911 dispatcher were disciplined, but it was not immediately clear Monday what that entailed. In discussing the two lawsuits, Speaks and officials from the City Attorney’s office and Police Division said that the public safety workers involved in each made tragic errors in judgment that defied their training.
Widow sues paramedics
Karen Sue James, the widow of Daniel Ronald James, filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in 2021. James’ attorney Barton Keyes states in the suit that Karen James called 911 in December 2017 for assistance with her 57-year-old husband, who had been in bed for about a week without eating or drinking.
City paramedics Bryan Owens and Christopher Mattingly responded to the James’ home, where Karen James told them her husband was an alcoholic and was unresponsive, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit states the paramedics refused to transport Daniel James to the hospital, saying he should get up and drink fluids. Karen James said she couldn’t get her husband up herself and told them that is why she needed them to transport him. The paramedics left, and Daniel James died the following morning from dehydration.
“At no point did Danny refuse to be transported to the hospital,” Keyes said in the suit. “Nor did Karen refuse transport on his behalf. Yet, even though Owens and Mattingly were the ones who said that Danny did not need to go to the hospital, they incorrectly stated in their run report that Danny had refused transport.”
The family filed a complaint with the Columbus Division of Fire, which the lawsuit says sustained the complaint.
The lawsuit against the city includes an affidavit from Paul Werfel, director of EMT and paramedic programs at Stony Brook University, who after reading the circumstances of what happened concluded that the two paramedics “deviated from applicable standards of care to the point of committing reckless, willful and wanton misconduct….”
Keyes told on Monday: “As a society, we count on 911 and emergency medics to provide appropriate care in times of need. When the system fails for one person, it fails for all of us. We appreciate that Columbus City Council has stepped up to address the catastrophic error that resulted in Danny James’ death. By agreeing to a settlement, his family will be spared a potentially lengthy and personally painful litigation process.”
Family of woman killed by boyfriend sues police, dispatcher
Luzy Saenz filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 against five Columbus police officers, a 911 dispatcher and the city of Columbus over the alleged mishandling of two domestic violence calls on July 11, 2019 that preceded the murder of her daughter.
The Saenz family released this statement Monday through their attorney:
“We remain heartbroken by Deb’s untimely and tragic death. She was a wonderful and loving daughter, sister, aunt and friend. We think of her every day. We hope the Columbus Police Department can use Deb’s case to teach their police officers how to better handle their involvement in domestic violence calls, especially those calls in which the caller alleges the threat of guns, to be able to protect victims and potential victims of domestic violence.”
The civil lawsuit states that Deborah Saenz, 32, called 911 on July 11, 2019, and told a dispatcher that she had been beaten by her boyfriend, 26-year-old Marcos Solis III, a convicted felon who had been recently released from prison and who had guns. A convicted felon is barred by law from owning or possessing a firearm.
The five officers who reportedly responded to the scene were identified in the lawsuit as Matthew Caldwell, a nine-year veteran of the department; John Coaty, a 21-year veteran; Todd Eagon, a 19-year veteran; Sean Noltemeyer, an 18-year veteran; and Rodney Reed, a 25-year veteran.
The lawsuit alleges the officers separated Saenz and Solis to ask them about what was going on at the home. According to the lawsuit, there was a broken window between the outdoor area where Solis was talking to officers and the indoor room where Saenz was speaking to officers, allowing Solis to potentially hear what was being said and preventing Saenz from being forthcoming with police.
In a response filed by the Columbus City Attorney’s office, the city said some or all of the officers were not aware of the broken window.
An open gun case was lying in plain view on a bed inside the apartment, according to the lawsuit, and officers failed to ask Saenz about any firearms being in the home or search for a firearm.
The lawsuit also alleges the 911 dispatcher, Laura Thomas, a 20-year city employee, did not alert officers to an additional call from Saenz’s address that came after they left. The caller hung up without anyone speaking to dispatchers and a call back from dispatchers to the number was not answered.
The officers on the scene classified the run as a “16-B,” or a mental disturbance, “effectively dismissing what (Saenz) was saying and undermining her credibility,” the lawsuit said.
The next morning, Solis called 911 and reported he had shot Saenz, who died later that morning from her wounds.
Solis pleaded guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter and possessing a weapon under disability (having a gun as a convicted felon) in connection with Saenz’ death on July 12, 2019.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Andy D. Miller sentenced Solis in that case and another unrelated one to a total indefinite prison term of 20 years to a maximum of 25½ years.
The plaintiffs dropped the city from the suit for legal reasons, but the Columbus City Attorney’s office represents city employees.