Texas Deputy Sues 911 Caller For Not 'Adequately Warning' Him Of Potential Danger Or 'Making The Premises Safe'

Legal Issues

from the so,-you-want-to-get-paid-for-investigating-only-'safe'-situations? dept

A very unique lawsuit being filed by a Texas sheriff’s deputy has the chance to set a very chilling precedent if the court finds in favor of the plaintiff. In the history of ridiculous personal injury lawsuits, this one sets a new standard. Sure, we’ve seen criminals sue homeowners for injuries sustained during burglaries and customers sue businesses for their own failure to recognize that traditionally hot liquids are hot [a false equivalent as pointed out by many, many commenters — my bad {TC}], but this is a brand new angle.

Here are the details on this recently-filed lawsuit.

A Houston-area deputy has sued the family of a man he fatally shot following a 911 call last year, alleging he and others who responded were not properly warned about the danger they faced.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Harris County sheriff’s Deputy Brady Pullen is seeking up to $200,000 from Carmina Figueroa, a relative of Kemal Yazar, for injuries he suffered, including a concussion and a broken nose…

Figueroa “had a duty to exercise ordinary care in adequately (warning) others that her resident or guest Kamal Yazar posed a violent threat to others due to his ingestion or smoking of ‘bath salts’ or some other mind altering substance, and to make the premises safe,” according to the lawsuit.

Pullen is seeking damages for past and future medical expenses, mental anguish and loss of past earning capacity.

Yes, a deputy is suing the family of a man he killed because he escaped the presumably deadly situation with a concussion and broken nose. Notably, other responding officers have decided not to file suit — perhaps because they sustained no injuries, or perhaps because doing so would be incredibly stupid.

Two things that should be noted:

First, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia admits the lawsuit is “unusual” but is taking a hands-off approach to Pullen’s legal battle. But more interesting than that is that the shooting itself is still “under investigation” despite occurring nearly 8 months ago on December 30, 2012. Apparently, Pullen and others involved have been on “paid administrative leave” since that point.

Second, and more pertinent to the case at hand, Pullen’s own filing claims that he was called to the scene by EMS responders, which would place the liability for an “improper warning” on the EMS unit, not the homeowner. The first responders should have been able to convey any warning about the potential danger of the situation, and from Pullen’s own words, they actually did.

On information and belief, someone at Defendant Figueroa’s residence placed a “911” call on December 30, 2012, and requested that an ambulance be sent to Defendant’s residence to treat Kemal Yazar who had been either smoking or ingesting a drug commonly called “bath salts” or some other mind altering substance for days. At some point in time, prior to calling EMS, because of Kemal Yazar’s state of mind, Defendant decided to evacuate the children from the home for safety reasons. Plaintiff, a Harris County Deputy Sheriff, was dispatched to Defendant’s residence to assist EMS with an “aggressive or non compliant person“.

It certainly isn’t the 911 caller’s duty to provide the officer with all the details he or she will need to assess the situation. They aren’t trained professionals who can provide an accurate assessment of the danger level. 911 callers are often in danger themselves, something that often prevents them from going into detail.

More bizarrely, Pullen claims 911 callers have a “duty” to “make the premises safe.” If for no other reason, the lawsuit should be tossed because of this claim. What does Deputy Pullen think the emergency phone number is for? Reporting jaywalking and check fraud? The logic Pullen’s deploying absolutely boggles the mind.

And even if you buy all of Pullen’s ridiculous arguments, the fact remains that the defendant didn’t call him to the scene. The EMS unit did and that’s where the “liability” should lay.

Beyond that, there’s the fact that law enforcement officers know that every situation they walk into is potentially dangerous, as Sheriff Garcia himself points out.

“As trained public servants, our presumption when receiving and responding to emergency calls is that there is an element of danger present. As public servants, it is our duty to respond to those calls as quickly as possible,” Garcia said.

Attorney Joel Androphy says this lawsuit is highly problematic for citizens who find themselves in dangerous situations.

He adds, “if you allow suits like this to go forward, it will have a chilling effect on all people that want to make 9-1-1 calls because they will be afraid if something happens to the police officer”.

Valerie Salvati points out how far a suit like this would extend liability:

It would also raise the question of if an officer gets hurt on your property if you didn’t call them for help. Should a homeowner be responsible for the injuries of someone he didn’t want there in the first place? What if the homeowner isn’t aware of the extent of the danger in a given situation? It would seem more appropriate for this to be handled by workers compensation than in suing the homeowner.

Another attorney is even harsher in his assessment of Pullen’s case:

Criminal Attorney Brian Wice calls the lawsuit “a slap in the face to first responders everywhere.”

“Look, police officers know everyday, everywhere they go, they could be in a dangerous situation, so this guy is going to try step out and collect money for taking that risk,” said Wice.

Holding individuals responsible for the actions of other adults has always been a terrible idea. Pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against someone else simply because the person who actually injured you is dead is a new low bar for vindictive pettiness. Doing this as a law enforcement officer whose job expectations include the possibility of being injured or killed — and as someone who was warned the situation would be dangerous — sets the bar so low its indistiguishable from the ground.

Filed Under: 911, lawsuits, texas