Search for Information Regarding Fire Dept. Fight, Leads to 12 Lawsuits Filed Against Gloucester City
Friday, May 25, 2018
William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNewsnet
EDITOR'S NOTE: (May 25, 2018)-- In our search for information about the alleged fight between two Gloucester City 
firemen that occurred earlier this year at Fire Headquarters, King and Monmouth Streets, CNBNews submitted an OPRA request for all lawsuits filed against the City in 2018. We had heard that the injured fireman, who suffered a broken arm, had filed a lawsuit against the person responsible for the attack and also against the City.
According to an anonymous source, the alleged fight at the Fire Department headquarters, One King Street, involved a fire department captain who allegedly attacked a subordinate over comments about the firehouse in the media. The fireman was in a discussion about whether it was someone within the firehouse. This supposedly enraged the captain, a six-foot-plus individual who outweighed the man he attacked by over 75 pounds. The captain picked his subordinate up and body-slammed the man into the concrete floor of the firehouse, breaking his arm.
We were told by a city official the captain received a paid week suspension for his outburst. We spoke with a family member of the injured firefighter and were told the man just wanted to forget the incident and move on.
Kathy Jentsch, the City's custodian of records, said since January 1, there have been no legal actions taken against the City by anyone. Curious, we also asked for copies of all lawsuits filed against the City and its employees in the past five years. Altogether we received copies of 12 lawsuits involving the city police department, the city fire department, and the city of Gloucester City.
Some of the other incidents involved people who suffered injuries from broken sidewalks while walking; a fight that happened during a wedding reception at the Gloucester City VFW Post 3620, and a Route 130 traffic accident. Some were dismissed without prejudice. Others were settled out of court by the city's insurance carrier. We are continuing our investigations and plan on updating this article in the near future.
Below is a summary of five cases that were filed against the city police department and the city fire department.
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(Date Filed: February 14, 2018): (Plaintiff) A.N. by her parent and guardian v. (Defendants) 
Gloucester City Police Officer Kevin Wall, Police Chief Brian Morrell, City School Supt. Joseph Rafferty, the Gloucester City School District
General allegation: On February 24, 2017, the plaintiff and her daughter were attending a basketball game at the Cold Springs School when a fight broke out. While outside the school after the fight was over and all persons were commanded to leave the school, the minor A.N. and others exchanged expletives when Defendant Wall arrived at her location. Allegedly Defendant Wall approached Plaintiff A.N. and assaulted her, forcibly grabbing her hair and violently throwing her to the ground without legal justification.
It is alleged that Officer Kevin Wall forcefully grabbed the minor by her hair and threw her on the ground solely for "cursing," according to the officer. She was on the ground with a knee against her back and face being pushed into the ground by Wall and/or John Does 1-10
Plaintiff A.N. was charged and banned from all community youth actuates as well as banned from attending Gloucester City Public Schools.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial plus interest, attorney fees, costs of suit, and further relief as the Court deems equitable and just. There are a total of 14 counts filed against the defendants by the plaintiff's lawyer Lloyd D. Henderson who is seeking a trial by jury.
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(Date filed January 8, 2015) —(Plaintiff) James Dottavio, as Administrator ad prosequendum of the Estate of James P. Dottavio, Deceased v. (Defendants) Gloucester City Police Officer Blaze O'Donnell, Police Officer Kevin Wall, Sgt. Jason Flood, Police Officer John Doe#1 and Police Officer Jane Doe #2
On that date, James Dottavio, as administrator ad prosequendum of the estate of James P. Dottavio, deceased filed a lawsuit against Gloucester City Police Officer Blaze O'Donnell, Police Officer Kevin Wall, Sgt. Jason Flood, Police Officer John Doe #1 and Police Officer Jane Doe#2. The incident alleged in the complaint occurred on/or about January 12, 2013, at 3:15 PM at 801 Jersey Avenue.
According to the website theLaw.com, an administrator ad prosequendum is a person appointed by the court to act as the representative of an estate in a lawsuit when there is no executor or administrator of the estate or such cannot serve to represent the estate such as a problem with conflicts of interest.
The documents stated the plaintiff, James P. Dottavio, was a 63-year-old man that was 5'2" inches tall and weighed 185 pounds at the time of the alleged incident. The plaintiff was involved in a property dispute with another man (name omitted by CNBNews) when the Gloucester City police arrived at 801 Jersey Avenue. Officer O'Donnell placed the plaintiff under arrest and grabbed his arm to handcuff him when they both fell to the ground. Officer Wall sprayed the deceased man with a one-second cap stun.
O'Donnell, according to the lawsuit, placed the handcuff on Dottavio left wrist, and defendant Sgt. Flood then delivered a vicious knee strike to the plaintiff's midsection. Sgt. Flood then delivered two more knee strikes to the plaintiff's midsection while he lay prone on the ground.
The other man involved in the January 12 argument with Dottavio refused to press any charges against him.
Later that day (January 12, 2013), Dottavio went to the Underwood-Memorial hospital complaining of pain in his left side due to the physical assault by the police officers. The deceased went back to the same hospital two days later and discovered he had rib fractures, a collapsed lung (pneumothorax), and blood in his lungs (hemothorax). He was transferred to Cooper Hospital because they are a designated trauma center and could better treat his condition.
The documents alleged that James P. Dottavio was in intolerable pain due to rib fractures and was experiencing difficulty breathing. He was discharged on January 16 and was given a combination of slow-release morphine (opiates) and tramadol for pain control. The injured man died four days later on January 20. The cause of death was a reaction to the drug(s).
It is alleged as a direct result of the conduct of the police officers named in the lawsuit the man suffered physical injuries, pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, and death.
The plaintiff was asking the court for compensatory and punitive dames in an amount in excess of $50,000 plus such reasonable costs as the court may allow for each one of the six counts specifically Count 1, assault and battery; Count two invasion of privacy-casting in a false light; Count 3 intentional infliction of emotional distress; Count 4 false arrest, false imprisonment and abuse of process; Count 5 wrongful death; Count 6 civil conspiracy.
The lawyer representing the plaintiff is DaQuana Carter of the Mincey & Fitzpatrick LLC law firm in Philadelphia. We reached out to the attorney asking whether or not the case was settled. As of this publication, we are still waiting for his response.
Police Lt. Steve Burkhardt was asked about the outcome of the case. And, would the officers involved like to explain their side of the story. Burkhardt said, "Regarding the Dottavio case, an agreement was reached between the estate and the city insurance provider. A confidentiality clause prohibits us from discussing the case."
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(Date July 15, 2015) (Plaintiff) Jesse B. Helms (Plaintiff)
v. (Defendant) Gloucester City Police Department
Jessie B. Helms, a prisoner at the Camden County Correctional Facility, Camden City, filed a suit in the United States District Court against the Gloucester City Police Department for using excessive force to arrest him. As a result of being punched by the police, Helms claimed he suffered injuries to his voice, his eyes, and ribs. He was suing the police department, specifically Officer Tim Ryder, the chief of police (George Berglund) and the city of Gloucester for $50,000 for his injuries and $100,000 for compulsory damages. Helms' hand wrote his statement, as a result, much of his writing was not legible. The court ruled that the Plaintiff may proceed in forma pauperis without prepayment of the $350 filing fee. The court allowed Helms to pay $10 a month until the balance was paid off.
Forma pauperis is a Latin term meaning "in the form of a pauper," referring to a party to a lawsuit who gets filing fees waived by filing a statement, often in the form of an affidavit, declaring the inability to pay. (source Merriam-Webster dictionary).
The outcome of the case is unknown at this time.
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(Date filed July 25, 2014) (Plaintiff) Longshot, Inc, trading as Highland Tavern, 308 Orlando Ave., Gloucester City v. (Defendants) Gloucester City, and (Police Chief) George Berglund
The complaint alleges, "Chief Berglund went into the Highland Tavern and announced he wanted to speak with any contractor who had a commercial vehicle in the tavern parking lot. Two such patrons went out at the direction of the police chief, at which time the police chief threatened these patrons, using words to the effect that it would not be in their best interests to patronize the Highland Tavern, and he would call the State Police. The patrons then left the tavern as a result. Since then, contractors have avoided patronizing the tavern, and it has experienced a loss in business. There was no good reason and no law enforcement reason in particular for Berglund
to selectively target the Highland Tavern and roust the contractors from the Tavern that day which has caused a long-lasting impact on the Tavern because now contractors are aware to stay away from the Highland Tavern.
The outcome of this case is unknown at this time. Our investigation is continuing.
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(Date filed October 6, 2015) Plaintiff Crescent Mobile Home Park, 1400 Crescent Blvd., Gloucester City v. Defendants Rose Hoover , John Hoover, Danny Hoover, Royal Oil and Gloucester City Fire Department.
It is alleged that the oil tank at the property located in the unit block of Cedarwood Avenue was leaking. The complaint states that Royal Oil filled the tank with oil even though it was leaking. That the Hoover's negligently tried to repair the oil tank. And the Gloucester City Fire Department, who was called to empty the tank tried to repair it instead by banging a plug into the tank with a flashlight. As a result of the fire department's action the hole in the tank got bigger and a large amount of oil spilled onto the property. The defendant is seeking damages, plus punitive damages, together with interest, attorney feels and any other relief as the court deemed proper.
The outcome of the case is unknown at this time.
Editor's Note:We intend to investigate these lawsuits further in an attempt to determine if they were settled. And if so for how much.