The suit was filed by Brooke Russell's parents, Kevin and Julissa and her brother, Brant. It replaces an earlier petition, which also cited the Joplin Police Department as a defendant. The Police Department is a part of the City of Joplin.
In the petition, the police officers are cited for "malicious prosecution and false arrest," "using excessive force," and negligence.
The City of Joplin is cited for its "policies, pratices, and procedures," while Julissa Wolf is suing the city and both officers for "loss of consortium."
The events that led to the lawsuit are described in the petition:
On March 17, 2013, Brooke Russell left her home indicating she was going
for some exercise.
When she did not return home timely, her mother, Julissa Russell, went looking for Brooke and found her in a park, the apparent victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head. Mrs. Russell, along with her husband, plaintiff Kevin Russell, and their son, Brant Russell, loaded Brooke into their car and left for the hospital.
En route to the hospital, they called 911, and the 911 operator advised them to go to the Joplin Police Department, where there would be an ambulance waiting for them. The ambulance, police and fire department had all been advised prior to the Russells’ arrival that the Russells were en route with the victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
When the Russells arrived at the Joplin Police Department, they saw the ambulance and carried Brooke to the back of the ambulance, where they had to wait for the ambulance door to be opened and a gurney to be pulled out and presented to them.
They quickly placed Brooke on the gurney, stepped back and pleaded for the emergency personnel to get Brooke to the hospital for treatment. Rather than immediately leave for the hospital, emergency personnel left Brooke unattended on the gurney and began to question the Russells about what happened, becoming confrontational about the Russells’ agitation with the delay in getting treatment for Brooke.
As the Russells continued to plead for the EMT’s to do their jobs and get Brooke to the hospital, Brooke’s body rolled off the gurney and fell to the concrete pavement below. At no time did either Kevin Russell or Brant Russell assault with any first responder, engage in any physical altercation, obstruct the first responders from doing their jobs, or violate any other laws or ordinances.
The Russells continued to urge the EMT’s to provide care for Brooke, and EMT Todd Woods became physically aggressive with Kevin Russell, aggressively approaching Mr. Russell, threatening and yelling at him while Brooke lay on the ground.
At that point, defendants Wolf and Christensen assaulted Brant Russell and Kevin Russell, by spraying their faces with mace or pepper spray, physically assaulting them and placing them in handcuffs with no justification. Defendants Wolf and Christensen then placed Kevin and Brant Russell in a police car, placed them under arrest and held them in the Joplin Police Station for nearly three hours.
While Kevin and Brant Russell were held in the Joplin Police Station, Brooke Russell died at the hospital.
Defendants made false reports to the prosecutor regarding plaintiffs’ conduct and encouraged the prosecutor to pursue criminal charges against plaintiffs, which the prosecutor did. However, after the prosecutor withdrew from the criminal case and was replaced by an independent special prosecutor, the criminal charges against Kevin and Brant Russell were dismissed by the special prosecutor.
A representative of the Joplin Police Department also made an improper and inaccurate report to the United States Military that was falsely derogatory of Brant Russell regarding the events described herein, and directly caused Brant to be discharged from his military service, thus ending his planned and desired military career.
As a direct and proximate result of the actions of officers Wolf and Christensen, and by extension, defendants City of Joplin and Joplin Police Department, Kevin Russell suffered severe physical and emotional injuries as a direct result of the assault and his subsequent improper and unlawful arrest and detention in the police station. He further suffered embarrassment and humiliation as a result of the false allegations leveled at him by defendants. His ability to perform his normal functions as a husband were negatively affected.
As a direct and proximate result of the actions of officers Wolf and Christensen, and by extension, defendants City of Joplin and Joplin Police Department, Brant Russell suffered severe physical and emotional injuries as a direct result of the assault and his subsequent improper and unlawful arrest and detention in the police station. He further suffered embarrassment and humiliation as a result of the false allegations leveled at him by defendants. He further suffered a loss of his career and income with the United States Military as a direct result of the actions of a representative and agent of defendants City of Joplin and Joplin Police Department in falsely reporting allegations of misconduct against him to his superiors with the military/
6 comments:
They'll get millions.
Hop they do get millions they deserve it although it wont replace what they lost
1 very biased side of the story.
This may very well be one very biased side of the story but with no rebuttal it's the only story the public has heard. No matter what the other side of the story might be, allowing a dying victim to fall off the gurney while Joplin's finest interrogates the family is ridiculous.
The reality is, the young woman probably would not have survived anyway but unless the cops and EMTs present at the scene thought the family was going to try to flee there was no excuse for their neglect/abuse of the victim. This is just another example of JPD flexing their muscles and then lying about it in an attempt to justify their actions.
Shame on them.
Why should the emergency workers give their side of the story? Nobody will believe it anyway. They are all crooked in the public eye no matter what they do.
I am a bit confused to the duties of EMT's. I believe their sole duty at the scene of an accident is to attend to the injured and access whether others are injured. Not to gather or attempt to gather information for any purpose. I have never been in a situation that would justify that their single concern would be anything other than evaluating the young lady on the gurney and loading her into the vehicle and get her to the hospital quickly. Is there a reason the med. personnel have been exempt from this lawsuit?
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