Supreme Court: Officer’s negligence led to murder
Oct 17, 2013, 12:37 PM | Updated: 2:10 pm
The Washington State Supreme Court is upholding a $1.1 million judgement against the city of Federal Way. Justices say a Federal Way Police Officer didn’t do enough to protect a woman who ended up murdered at the hands of her longtime boyfriend.
It was a Saturday morning, in April 2008, when Officer Andrew Hensing and a Korean interpreter went to the home Baerbel Roznowski shared with Paul Kim. They were serving a protection order against Kim that required him to stay 500 feet away from Roznowski.
According to court documents, the officer saw Roznowski in the home but did not demand that Kim leave the premises. The officer handed Kim the order of protection, told him he needed to appear in court, and then left.
Kim left the home to run an errand. When he returned a short time later, he and Roznowski argued about the protection order, according to court documents. He attacked Roznowski with a knife and attempted to take his own life. Doctors were able to save Kim, but Roznowski died from multiple stab wounds.
Roznowski’s daughters have filed suit against the city for wrongful death.
At trial, a family counselor testified that the point of separation between an abuser and victim is often a “very volatile and dangerous period.”
A former Bellevue Police Chief, Donald Van Blaricom, also testified. He stated the officer’s service of the anti-harassment order wasn’t proper. Officer Hensing should have contacted Roznowski to ensure she was safe and he should have required Kim to leave.
Former Chief of the Seattle Police Department Norman Stamper testified that it was “astonishing” Hensing did not do more. He said the officer essentially set Roznowski up for a “horrible crime.”
Speaking in defense of the city, Seattle Sergeant Thomas Ovens testified that based on the type of protection order, Hensing did not need to enforce it immediately. Ovens stated the officer was correct in giving Kim time to remove his belongings from the home.
The jury returned a verdict against the city in the amount of $1.1 million.
The city appealed, but the Supreme Court has upheld the verdict in a unanimous decision.
Writing for the court, Justice Mary Fairhurst says the city did not take “reasonable steps to guard against the possibility that Kim would harm Roznowski as a result of the service of the anti-harassment order.”
Kim is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for second degree murder.
