By KATE MORAN
Day Staff Writer, New London
Published on 10/21/2004
New London— Two victims who survived a stabbing at the Thames River Apartments in April sent the city notice this week that they may file a civil suit over the police and fire departments' response to the crime and general safety conditions within the public-housing complex.
Jennifer Turner and Rita Whitehead did not necessarily promise a lawsuit by filing the notice Tuesday, but by doing so within six months of the stabbing, they preserved their right to seek damages in the future.
Their attorney, Stephen M. Reck of Pawcatuck, said Wednesday a lawsuit is not immediately forthcoming.
A broad cross-section of city officials received the notice this week, including the police and fire chiefs, every officer and dispatcher in both departments, the city housing authority, the city manager, the City Council and the Public Safety Committee.
On April 20, police say Robert Swain III went on a stabbing spree in the Thames River Apartments, allegedly attacking Turner, his ex-girlfriend, and Whitehead, her neighbor across the hall in the “B” building. He is accused of killing his infant son, Josiah, and Turner's 10-year-old sister, Emmaline, who was visiting during a school vacation.
News reports at the time documented that police, who frantically tried to break into Turner's apartment while Swain had the children inside, had requested a master key from the fire department. The fire department allegedly refused to give police the key, which was kept in a locked Knox box to which the fire department had access.
Reck said Wednesday that the notice named so many city staff because he had not been able to determine who had declined to turn over the key or why the decision was made, even with the help of a private investigator. He also said the city had denied a report he had sought under the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Brian Estep, an attorney for the city, said Reck had made requests for documents from several city departments, and those are still being reviewed. He said the city is consulting with the state's attorney's office about which documents to release while the criminal case is still being prosecuted.
“The city understands its need to provide information, but at the same time, it wants to protect the ability of the state's attorney to prosecute cases,” Estep said.
Reck said any future suit will likely address the security conditions at the Crystal Avenue high-rise, where both the front and back entrance gates were broken during the April stabbing. While Turner appeared to have let Swain inside her apartment voluntarily, Reck said his client had wanted to keep her ex-boyfriend at bay and would have done so more easily if security outside her building had been tighter.
Richard Leco, the executive director of the city's housing authority, declined to comment on the notice filed this week. However, he said the housing authority has repaired the front gate and has plans to repair the back one as well.
| 1998-2004 The Day Publishing Co. |