Archie v. City of Racine
| Decision Date | 11 February 1986 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 84-C-926. |
| Citation | 627 F. Supp. 766 |
| Parties | Betty J. ARCHIE, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Rena M. DeLacy, Deceased, Cynthia F. DeLacy, Marlon J. DeLacy, Darwin D. DeLacy, Veronica M. Brumsey, and Randall R. DeLacy, a minor, by Adrian P. Schoone, his Guardian ad Litem, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF RACINE, Ronald W. Chiapete, George W. Giese, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin |
Curry First, Perry, First, Reiher, Lerner & Quindel, S.C., Milwaukee, Wis., and Adrian P. Schoone, Schoone, McManus, Hankel, Ware & Fortune, S.C., Racine, Wis., for plaintiffs.
Joseph E. Boyle, City Atty., and Mark Janiuk, Deputy Corp. Counsel, Racine, Wis., for defendants.
DECISION AND ORDER
This case was tried to the court on September 24, 25, and 26, 1985. At the close of plaintiffs' case, defendants Racine County, John Esayian, and Herbert E. Johnson were dismissed from the suit. The following constitute my findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding the claims against the remaining defendants, the City of Racine, Ronald W. Chiapete and George W. Giese.
Three people play central roles in the tragedy that unfolded in Racine, Wisconsin, on May 27 and 28, 1984. First is Rena DeLacy, a black woman who died in her home in the early morning hours of May 28, 1984. At the time of her death she was only 43 years old, but her health was not good. The autopsy, performed by Dr. Victor Baylon, revealed the following conditions:
Dr. Baylon concluded that the cause of Ms. DeLacy's death was "respiratory failure due to bilateral vesicular pulmonary emphysema with superimposed bronchopneumonia."
The second major actor is Les Hiles, a man well known to some in the Racine community, and almost universally referred to as a "character." Hiles was with DeLacy the day before she died. He initiated two calls to the Racine Fire Department seeking rescue services.
Third is Giese, a dispatcher with the Racine Fire Department who took both of Hiles' calls, told DeLacy to breathe into a paper bag, and refused to send the rescue squad to her home.
A supporting minor part is played by Chiapete, the Racine Fire Chief, who was in charge of rescue services for the city.
The events of May 27 and 28, 1984, began at 7:19 a.m. when Hiles called for the rescue squad. The conversation was recorded, and is as follows:
It is clear from listening to the tape that Hiles was anxious to get help for DeLacy. It is also clear when DeLacy spoke that she was in distress. In his testimony Giese acknowledged that he recognized the difficulty she was having. The sounds of her heavy labored breathing are heard on the tape.
Almost eight hours later, at 3:03 p.m. on May 27, 1984, Hiles again called the Fire Department. The conversation was as follows:
Early on May 28, 1984, Hiles found DeLacy dead, sitting in a chair in her apartment. He called the police and Sgt. M.S. Ackley was one of the officers who arrived at the scene to investigate. Ackley confirmed that DeLacy was dead and called the Coroner's Office.
Hiles told Ackley of his calls for the rescue squad. Before he left the scene, Sgt. Ackley called the Fire Department to check to see if the rescue squad had been called. His report as to what he learned is as follows:
It should lastly be noted that while the writer was at the home awaiting the arrival of the Assistant Deputy Coroner, I did make contact with the Racine Fire Department. I spoke with the third shift phone operator and advised him of the allegations made by MR. HILES. The third shift dispatcher said that he had not talked with a day shift operator, but he would gladly check the log for rescue runs at that address. The day shift operator further stated they had no logs listing of run with a rescue at that address. The night shift operator stated he would recontact the day shift operator in the morning, and see if any such call did indeed come in. The midnight phone operator from the Fire Department did state that he very seriously doubt it that they would not respond to the call, as they will respond to almost all calls for service regardless of the frivolity of the alleged problem.
Sgt. Ackley's testimony indicates that he was immediately concerned that the situation had been handled inappropriately.
The policy of the Racine Fire Department as to rescue calls, in Municipal Ordinance 5.11.020, is that the Fire Department answers all calls as delineated by the Chief or the Assistant Chief. Fire Chief Chiapete states that the Department answers "all emergency calls." No written statement exists as to what constitutes an emergency.
Chiapete testified at trial that Giese should have dispatched the rescue squad to DeLacy. Chiapete would have done so. But he also stated that he could understand how Giese came to a different conclusion.
Jeffrey G. Peterson, Assistant Chief of the Racine Fire Department in charge of training in May, 1984, stated that the verbal policy of the Fire Department was to send rescue units to all emergency calls. He also stated, in response to hypothetical questions, that a rescue squad should have been sent in a situation such as the DeLacy situation. According to Peterson, the only information it is necessary to give to the dispatcher is the address and the type of service required. The dispatcher likes to have the name of the person as well, in case the address given is incorrect.
An official investigation into Giese's conduct resulted in the following Press Release from Chiapete, which is quoted here in part:
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Archie v. City of Racine
...1985 and resulted in the dismissal of the action. The district court's findings of fact and conclusions of law are reported in 627 F.Supp. 766 (E.D.Wis.1986). The uncontested facts and the district court's findings of fact show as Rena DeLacy was a black female, age 43. She lived alone in h......
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Archie v. City of Racine
...friend Rena DeLacy. Hiles told George Giese, the dispatcher, that DeLacy was "hyperventilating" and could "hardly breathe". 627 F.Supp. 766, 767 (E.D.Wis.1986) (the district court's opinion contains a transcript of the dialogue). Hiles said that DeLacy needed medical care but could not walk......
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Dudosh v. City of Allentown
...(1986); see also, Williams v. City of Boston, 599 F.Supp. 363 (D.Mass.1984), affirmed, 784 F.2d 430 (1st Cir.1986); Archie v. City of Racine, 627 F.Supp. 766 (E.D. Wis.1986); and Bernstein v. Lower Moreland Township, 603 F.Supp. 907 (E.D.Pa. The theme of the cases cited above is that the Fo......
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