James Dean's family sues after killing in standoff

Veteran's Family Sues Police, Counties
Man With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Was Killed by Officer During Standoff

By Megan Greenwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 9, 2008; Page B06

The family of an Afghanistan combat veteran who was shot by a state trooper after a 14-hour standoff in 2006 has filed a $20 million wrongful death suit against the Maryland State Police and three Southern Maryland counties.

The lawsuit, filed by the wife and parents of James E. Dean, alleges that 16 individual officers, the state and St. Mary's, Charles and Calvert counties showed "malice or callous disregard" for Dean's life during the confrontation at his father's home Dec. 26, 2006.

State Police Sgt. Daniel Weaver killed Dean with a single shot after a tense overnight confrontation in which SWAT teams and armored vehicles surrounded the house in rural St. Mary's and tear gas was repeatedly fired through the windows.

"The actions of the law enforcement officers at the scene . . . needlessly provoked Dean and increased the danger to themselves and to Dean," the lawsuit says.

Roger J. Myerberg, an attorney for the Dean family, said relatives decided to file suit after the state and counties denied liability. His clients' primary goal, he said, is to ensure that the agencies change their tactics and procedures so that similar incidents can be avoided in the future.

"There is a long list of things that shouldn't be done or should be done differently in the future," Myerberg said.

Dean, 29, had received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression after serving 12 months as a sergeant leading a small infantry division in Afghanistan.

His wife, Muriel, said that he had registered with the Department of Veterans Affairs as disabled but that he nonetheless received a letter instructing him to report for duty in January for a tour in Iraq.

The night before he was killed, Dean drank heavily and began throwing dishes around the home he shared with Muriel. Fearing he might try to harm himself or her, she ordered him out of the house.

"The next time you see me, it's going to be in a body bag," he told her as he left.
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I remember this story well. Think about how little the police are informed about the wounds of war. Pretty amazing how little they know considering a lot of police officers develop PTSD because of their jobs. Even worse considering while they know any day they could have their lives on the line, they do not have to come face to face with traumatic situations on a daily basis. Combat veterans, especially the ones serving in Iraq, and now Afghanistan, face everyday with no time to go home, no time to deal with it and very little help in the zone.

Police officers get to be debriefed with facts and then emotionally debriefed following a traumatic event. Soldiers don't. There are not enough mental health professionals and Chaplains serving with them. Every single law enforcement officer needs to be aware of what PTSD is in order to deal with the hundreds of thousands of veterans with PTSD, as well as the thousands of officers who have it as well. Then they need to be aware of the rest of the citizens with PTSD. Last count it was about 7 million of them.