By Joel Thurtell
In light of the current controversy surrounding use by cops of pepper spray, I’m reprinting my Detroit Free Press articles in 2000 and 2003 about the death of a Pontiac, Michigan man, Kerwin Thomas from an asthma attack brought on by a dose of pepper spray from Waterford Township police. Three years after Thomas’s death, a federal court awarded Thomas’s family and their law firm $1.6 million in damages. Here, with permission of the Free Press, are the two stories I wrote:
Story ID
0002010113
DETROIT FREE PRESS
PUB DATE
Tuesday, February 01, 2000
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OAKLAND EDITION
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Byline
JOEL THURTELL FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
MEMO
CORRECTION
AUTOPSY: PEPPER GAS WAS FATAL
IT TRIGGERED ASTHMA IN PONTIAC MAN, 29
The Oakland County medical examiner is warning area police officers that
pepper gas — the modern and supposedly harmless substitute for the
policeman’s truncheon — can be lethal.
Dr. L.J. Dragovic said he learned of the danger of pepper gas two weeks ago,
after an autopsy showed that 29-year-old Kerwin Thomas of Pontiac died from
inhaling the chemical spray. Waterford police said they sprayed Thomas after
he attacked them during a traffic stop.
While ruling Thomas’ death an accident, the medical examiner said the cause
was “acute bronchial asthma due to pepper spray-induced irritation of the
airways.”
Dragovic said he’s concerned about the risk pepper gas poses to people with
asthma or allergies. He’s reviewing literature on pepper gas deaths, including
a 1994 study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police that showed
30 deaths between August 1991 and December 1993.
“It’s not without some risks and side effects, and in the right person,
unfortunately, it’s a deadly combination,” Dragovic said.
The use of pepper spray was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union
in Richmond, Va., following the death of a Roanoke, Va., man two years ago,
said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.
In a normal person, pepper spray causes tears, sneezing and irritation of the
nose. But Thomas suffered from bronchial asthma, a condition that was
triggered by the gas, Dragovic said.
Pepper gas is a nontoxic spray that allows police to subdue unruly suspects
without hitting them, said Terry Jungel, executive director of the Michigan
Sheriffs Association.
“Pepper spray, under some circumstances, is a lethal product, and it is
impossible for people to always know when it is going to be lethal. And that
is reason enough not to use it,” Willis said.
Dragovic said police couldn’t have known that Thomas suffered from bronchial
asthma.
According to police, Thomas leaped out of the car and dragged one officer to
the ground, pinning him and injuring his back. The officer sprayed Thomas,
handcuffed him — with the help of his partner — and took him to the Oakland
County Jail. At the jail, Thomas allegedly fought again, then collapsed. He
was taken to the North Oakland Medical Centers in Pontiac, where he died, said
Waterford Police Lt. Dale LaCroix.
Dragovic said a microscopic study of Thomas’ lungs showed that the pepper
spray had caused his airways to collapse and he died from lack of oxygen.
The Waterford police have no plans to stop using pepper spray, LaCroix said.
Pepper gas “is used as an alternative to a weapon. It’s still a tool. We
usually use this before we use a blunt trauma object like a nightstick.”
Dragovic said he doesn’t know what to advise police, but “the situation
resulting in a death is a concern.”
Willie Thomas has hired former Wayne County Medical Examiner Dr. Werner Spitz
to conduct an independent review of his son’s autopsy.
“He was my big old teddy bear. He wasn’t going to hurt anybody,” Thomas said.
JOEL THURTELL can be reached at 248-586-2609 or thurtell@freepress.com.
KEYWORDS
PEPPER SPRAY;DEATH;ASTHMA;KERWIN THOMAS
DISCLAIMER
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2000 Detroit Free Press
2000
Story ID
0308080453
DETROIT FREE PRESS
PUB DATE
Friday, August 08, 2003
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OAKLAND EDITION
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JOEL THURTELL FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
MEMO
SHORTER VERSION RAN IN METRO FINAL EDITION, PAGE 6B.
CORRECTION
OFFICIAL: SUIT WON’T HALT USE OF SPRAY
WATERFORD TO PAY BULK OF $1.6-MILLION AWARD
A$1.6-million federal court settlement in the case of a Pontiac man who died
after police from Waterford and Oakland County overdosed him with pepper spray
won’t stop county deputies from using the cayenne-based gas, a county attorney
said Thursday.
The settlement will cost Waterford $1 million and the county $650,000,
according to documents in the public file of the federal courthouse in
Detroit.
Those documents weren’t supposed to be made public, said deputy Oakland County
Corporation Counsel Keith Lerminiaux.
“All the parties agreed that the settlement would remain confidential,”
Lerminiaux said Thursday. “I can’t comment on the amount.”
Free Press attorney Herschel Fink said any attempt by attorneys to suppress
the amount of the settlement would violate the Michigan Freedom of Information
Act.
Citing the same confidentiality agreement, Waterford Township Attorney Joseph
Seward said, “The case has been resolved, but that’s all I’m at liberty to
discuss.”
But Lerminiaux said the county won’t modify its use of pepper spray to deal
with people who resist arrest.
“The resolution of the matter has no effect on the sheriff’s department
policies regarding the use of pepper spray or anything similar to that,”
Lerminiaux said. “We feel confident that our officers acted appropriately. We
made a decision to resolve a doubtful and disputed claim.”
Waterford Township Supervisor Carl Solden did not return a phone call and a
Waterford Police Department spokeswoman said there was no one in that office
available to comment.
Geoffrey Fieger and Rebecca Walsh, attorneys for the heirs to the victim,
Kerwin Thomas, did not return calls, either.
Thomas, 29, was first dosed with pepper spray when he was stopped in January
2000 by Waterford police. Thomas, who was a large man, fought with police on
the street and later fought again with sheriff’s deputies at the County Jail.
At the jail, county deputies again dosed him with pepper spray.
Oakland County Medical Examiner L.J. Dragovic had said the cause of death was
an asthma attack — constriction of Thomas’ airways from breathing the pepper
gas. But Dragovic said Thursday that he did not think pepper spray was the
primary cause of Thomas’ death.
“There was no way that anyone could foresee the asthma” attack, he said.
“Pepper spray remains a good tool in trying to subdue someone,” Dragovic said,
adding that Thomas was a muscular 380 pounds and was difficult for police to
handle.
In 1994, a study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police found
that from 1990 to 1993, 30 people died in police custody in the United States
after being sprayed with pepper. However, in many cases, the people were
either on drugs or had been handcuffed or hog-tied.
In the weeks after Thomas’ death, Waterford police said they would not stop
using pepper spray.
Troy Police Lt. Steve Zavislak said in 2000 that he believed pepper spray had
reduced police-caused fatalities because it’s less violent than striking a
person with a club.
Shortly after Thomas’ death, his father, Willie Thomas of Pontiac, said his
son meant nobody any harm and called him “my big teddy bear.” On Thursday,
Willie Thomas said he’s getting over his son’s death, but he’s still bitter:
“They took our son.”
As for the impact of the payout on police use of spray, Thomas said, “I don’t
know if it’s going to change them or not.”
According to the settlement, the $1.6 million will be shared between Kerwin
Thomas’ parents, children and siblings.
Willie Thomas will receive $154,810.86 as will Kerwin Thomas’ mother, Evelyn
Chambers. Daughters Sirena Arkwright, Naomi Turner and Shaniqua Walker will
each receive $205,914.48. Kerwin Thomas’ brothers, Keno and Jason Thomas, each
will receive $51,603.61.
Fieger’s law firm is to collect $519,786.20 in fees plus $65,641.42 to cover
legal costs. Other attorneys who worked on the case are to receive $6,500.
Contact JOEL THURTELL at 248-586-2609 or thurtell@freepress.com.
KEYWORDS
CIVILIAN DEATH;WATERFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT;PEPPER SPRAY;LAWSUIT;GEOFFREY FIEGER
DISCLAIMER
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2003 Detroit Free Press
