A Lakes of the Four Seasons woman who filed a federal suit saying police in 2016 violated her Fourth Amendment rights when they improperly detained her, broke her arm and destroyed her property will receive $1.85 million after Lake County officials agreed to settle the case.
The Lake County Council Tuesday approved going out for up to a $5.5 million judgment bond measure to settle the case with Geralyn Klein, who was 60 at the time of the incident, and her son Robert Klein, and those of about 30 other complainants against the county and its various departments. A settlement was reached in the case April 24.
The bond will settle 31 claims, so far totaling about $4.1 million. Eight of the claims remain under negotiation and will be added to the bond issue if settled before it is finalized.
The settlement with Klein stems from an incident at her home in the 2300 block of Four Seasons Parkway in Crown Point in September 2016. According to court records, at about 2:45 p.m. that day, her son Brandon came sprinting through their home and out of the back door. Geralyn Klein then proceeded to lock the back sliding door. She filed the in 2018 suit against the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, a deputy and four LOFS officers.
When Klein went outside to see what was happening, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Pedrano told her she was under arrest for interfering with police business. According to court documents, Klein received no response when asked what she did wrong.
Medrano kept asking where her son was and Klein kept responding he had run out of the house and she did not know. She was instructed to go by her vehicle with her hands behind her back and was placed in handcuffs by Medrano.
“Immediately after, Defendant Medrano slammed Geralyn on top of her vehicle, then picked her up and slammed her on top of her vehicle again,” according to court records. Medrano then pulled her up, grabbed her arm, walked her briskly down the driveway and slammed her into her son’s car. Court records show Klein felt her arm pop as she fell to the ground.
Klein’s arm was broken in the interaction. She was also slammed into her son’s car hard enough to make a dent. Throughout the entire incident, Klein’s hands were handcuffed behind her back, according to the records. Police then proceeded to search her home for her son, breaking in the door despite having the key. They destroyed property he could not be hiding in including an armoire and further damaged a car in the garage, according to the complaint.
Ten of the claims relate to various workers’ compensation matters. Eight of those 10 claims are under negotiation. Of the remaining complaints settled through the bond issue, another nine of the claims deal with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department of the Lake County Jail.
Along with the judgment in favor of Klein, the county has agreed to pay out another approximately $1.2 million in claims against the sheriff’s department or jail.
Payments include $175,000 in a wrongful-death suit filed on behalf of Daniel Skonieczny; $45,000 to Lee Charles Grisby for a civil rights violation; $145,000 to Rubin Ketchum Jr. for negligence; $285,000 to John Klisurich for Fourth Amendment rights violations; $125,000 to the family of the late Matthew Shank in a wrongful-death suit, $59,000 to Paige Sickles for a dog bite; $350,000 to Sydney Stone for negligence and personal injury relating to a K-9 officer; $15,000 for a personal injury claim, and $18,000 for a damages claim.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez declined to comment on the settlements referring questions to his legal adviser John Kopack.
No one commented during the public hearing Tuesday for the bond measure. Councilman Pete Lindemulder, R-Schererville, questioned whether the county should use some of its $20 million in cash reserves to pay the judgments instead taking out a bond. He also questioned whether some of the cases would have been winnable if they went to court.
Fees for the bond and interest will be about $900,000 to $1 million, he said.
“I don’t ever want to be in a position where we overspent and can’t pay our bills. I do think in this instance we have the money to pay our bills with a cushion left over,” Lindemulder said.
Councilman Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said while he agrees it’s better not to take out loans if unnecessary, a $20 million cushion is not as much as it seems. Since the county is self-insured, one individual needing a service such as a transplant could have a significant impact on the reserve.
“All it takes is one catastrophic injury and that scares me,” he said.
The county has to pay an additional $4 million for payroll in 2024 due to an extra pay period that occurs every nine years. Officials also are in the midst of contract negotiations with the sheriff’s department, Bilski said.
“When we can borrow and not tap into our resources and still be able to manage, I’m in favor of the bond,” Bilski said.
The bond measure passed 4-2-1 with the panel’s two Republicans voting against the bond and Council President Charlie Brown, D-Gary, absent.
Matthew Fech, attorney for the Lake County Commissioners, said the last time the county went out for a judgment bond was a $4.4 million bond in 2019.
“Most studies show that less than 5% of all civil cases that get filed in the U.S. actually go to trial. Most cases settle,” Fech said.
The team of attorneys that defend the county against lawsuits are all seasoned litigation attorneys who evaluate each case and make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on whether a case should be settled or should go to trial, he said. The county does not have a set policy on when to take a case to trail because each one is different.
Fech said commissioners’ attorneys often get cases dismissed outright without ever having to go through the discovery process or obtain dismissals as a matter of law.
“The cases being settled are a small percentage of the number of cases that get filed against the county during that same time period,” Fech said.
Fech said that with the number of contacts sheriff’s officers have with members of the public on a daily basis, “the number of lawsuits that actually get filed as a result of their contacts is extraordinarily small.”
“The deputies by and large do a very good job and take pride in their work when dealing with the members of the public,” Fech said.