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Vulnerable Tacoma man's death on hot day won't bring charges | Tacoma - The News Tribune
Pierce County prosecutors will not file criminal charges in the death of a deaf, developmentally disabled Tacoma man who was the only fatality during an abnormal heat wave that blasted the region two years ago.
Still, Henry David Vernon’s death has prompted some local authorities to bolster their efforts to protect vulnerable Pierce County adults.
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist recently designated one of his deputies to prosecute crimes against such people full time.
“This case was one of the contributing factors in our decision to do that,” Lindquist said last week.
In addition, the Tacoma Fire Department will include language in its new patient-care protocols reminding paramedics and other first-responders of their duty to be on the lookout for potential abuse against vulnerable adults. The updated protocols will be issued next year, assistant chief Jim Duggan said recently.
Vernon’s brother, Earl, said last week he was glad something positive resulted from his older brother’s death, but lamented the decision not to prosecute anyone who worked at the facility where he died.
Earl Vernon contends the Tacoma group home where his brother lived was negligent in caring for the 55-year-old man, who collapsed of hyperthermia – an extremely high body temperature – the morning of July 29, 2009, and later died.
“Aacres Landing guaranteed and was paid to provide care for the health and safety of my brother, David, which included a cool, safe place to sleep,” Earl Vernon said in an email to The News Tribune. “They failed to do so, and this lack of accountability gives the impression that a vulnerable adult’s life is valued less than others.
“My hope was and is to achieve justice, to honor the memory of my brother, and most importantly, so that other families do not have to experience a similar tragedy.”
Aacres officials have declined to discuss Vernon’s death specifically, citing privacy policies, but have said they took precautions to safeguard tenants during the heat wave.
A live-in caregiver at the group home run by Aacres heard a thump coming from David Vernon’s second-story room about 5 a.m. the day he died and found him unresponsive on the floor.
The caregiver called 911, and paramedics were dispatched. They discovered Vernon in full cardiac arrest and rushed him to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was declared dead.
His body temperature was 107 degrees when he arrived at St. Joseph, according to records in the case.
Investigators with the Medical Examiner’s Office later reported Vernon’s window was opened about 2 inches, his door was closed and a fan in the room turned off the morning he died.
The temperature on July 28 reached 95 degrees, one degree short of the record set 11 years before. The high temperature reached 102 on July 29, a record at Sea-Tac Airport.
There were at least four investigations into David Vernon’s death, all of which concluded he died of accidental causes.
Unsatisfied with those findings, Earl Vernon asked prosecutors to look at the case. Vernon and his attorney, Barbara Corey, had suggested charges of criminal mistreatment or failing to report the death of a vulnerable adult might be appropriate.
The News Tribune ran a front-page story on the case Oct. 24, 2010.
In a letter dated June 30, 2011, chief criminal deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett informed Earl Vernon that no charges would be filed.
“It is clear that trained and experienced medical personnel, to include the fire department, hospital staff and even the investigator and pathologist who determined the manner and cause of death, did not have reason to believe David’s death was caused by abuse, neglect or abandonment,” Robnett wrote.
To prove the mistreatment charge, prosecutors would have had to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that someone purposefully withheld the basics of human life from Vernon, Lindquist said.
The evidence does not suggest that, he said.
“We empathize with (Earl Vernon) intently, and we pride ourselves on holding people accountable,” Lindquist said. “In this case, there wasn’t anyone to hold accountable.”
Earl Vernon pointed out the statute of limitations on the case expires in July 2012 and that he would continue to search for information that might change prosecutors’ minds.
He also said he would work with advocates for disabled and vulnerable adults to try to strengthen laws protecting them.
Pierce County prosecutors will not file criminal charges in the death of a deaf, developmentally disabled Tacoma man who was the only fatality during an abnormal heat wave that blasted the region two years ago.
Still, Henry David Vernon’s death has prompted some local authorities to bolster their efforts to protect vulnerable Pierce County adults.
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist recently designated one of his deputies to prosecute crimes against such people full time.
“This case was one of the contributing factors in our decision to do that,” Lindquist said last week.
In addition, the Tacoma Fire Department will include language in its new patient-care protocols reminding paramedics and other first-responders of their duty to be on the lookout for potential abuse against vulnerable adults. The updated protocols will be issued next year, assistant chief Jim Duggan said recently.
Vernon’s brother, Earl, said last week he was glad something positive resulted from his older brother’s death, but lamented the decision not to prosecute anyone who worked at the facility where he died.
Earl Vernon contends the Tacoma group home where his brother lived was negligent in caring for the 55-year-old man, who collapsed of hyperthermia – an extremely high body temperature – the morning of July 29, 2009, and later died.
“Aacres Landing guaranteed and was paid to provide care for the health and safety of my brother, David, which included a cool, safe place to sleep,” Earl Vernon said in an email to The News Tribune. “They failed to do so, and this lack of accountability gives the impression that a vulnerable adult’s life is valued less than others.
“My hope was and is to achieve justice, to honor the memory of my brother, and most importantly, so that other families do not have to experience a similar tragedy.”
Aacres officials have declined to discuss Vernon’s death specifically, citing privacy policies, but have said they took precautions to safeguard tenants during the heat wave.
A live-in caregiver at the group home run by Aacres heard a thump coming from David Vernon’s second-story room about 5 a.m. the day he died and found him unresponsive on the floor.
The caregiver called 911, and paramedics were dispatched. They discovered Vernon in full cardiac arrest and rushed him to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was declared dead.
His body temperature was 107 degrees when he arrived at St. Joseph, according to records in the case.
Investigators with the Medical Examiner’s Office later reported Vernon’s window was opened about 2 inches, his door was closed and a fan in the room turned off the morning he died.
The temperature on July 28 reached 95 degrees, one degree short of the record set 11 years before. The high temperature reached 102 on July 29, a record at Sea-Tac Airport.
There were at least four investigations into David Vernon’s death, all of which concluded he died of accidental causes.
Unsatisfied with those findings, Earl Vernon asked prosecutors to look at the case. Vernon and his attorney, Barbara Corey, had suggested charges of criminal mistreatment or failing to report the death of a vulnerable adult might be appropriate.
The News Tribune ran a front-page story on the case Oct. 24, 2010.
In a letter dated June 30, 2011, chief criminal deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett informed Earl Vernon that no charges would be filed.
“It is clear that trained and experienced medical personnel, to include the fire department, hospital staff and even the investigator and pathologist who determined the manner and cause of death, did not have reason to believe David’s death was caused by abuse, neglect or abandonment,” Robnett wrote.
To prove the mistreatment charge, prosecutors would have had to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that someone purposefully withheld the basics of human life from Vernon, Lindquist said.
The evidence does not suggest that, he said.
“We empathize with (Earl Vernon) intently, and we pride ourselves on holding people accountable,” Lindquist said. “In this case, there wasn’t anyone to hold accountable.”
Earl Vernon pointed out the statute of limitations on the case expires in July 2012 and that he would continue to search for information that might change prosecutors’ minds.
He also said he would work with advocates for disabled and vulnerable adults to try to strengthen laws protecting them.