Children sue city, police for elderly mother's death

Mary and David Martin allege in a suit filed last week in Pima County Superior Court that then-Tucson police Officer Lenny Wong, who responded to their mother Joan Allman’s apartment after a manager called regarding a possibly deceased elderly person, did not check for her pulse or vital signs.

The officer called for a medical examiner to report a dead body instead, court records showed. But it turned out that Allman, who was in her 70s, was not dead.

“What he did was unconscionable,” said Jeffrey Pyburn, a Phoenix-based attorney representing the Martins. “Just to let her sit there … when he could have helped her to save her life.”

City Attorney Mike Rankin said he has not reviewed the lawsuit yet and that he would not be able to comment.

On June 19, 2014, an apartment manager at Colonia and Hacienda del Rio, where Allman had been living, called 911 at about 1:03 p.m. when she did not see Allman for a couple of days and went to check on her.

Wong arrived nearly an hour later, records showed. Instead of checking to see if Allman was alive, he called the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A medical examiner arrived about 2½ hours after the initial call. When he was photographing Allman, he and Wong noticed that she was moving, at which point Wong called for medical help. She was then taken to a hospital. Pyburn said Allman made some progress after being treated at the hospital but ultimately died.

The lawsuit alleges Allman died as a result of “unreasonable delay in treatment.”

Allman was later found to have suffered a stroke, urinary tract infection, dehydration, skin abrasions and a fractured elbow, records showed.

The defendants — the city, Tucson police and the former officer — failed to respond to the 911 call in a timely manner, check to see if Allman was alive, call for immediate medical help, notify Allman’s children of her condition or investigate what caused her injuries, according to the lawsuit.

“It’s our belief that Officer Wong and the Tucson PD completely screwed up the investigation,” Pyburn said.

The officer being sued has a questionable history of discipline from the police department, he said. Prior to the Allman incident, Wong had been suspended for a total of 400 hours.

Wong had been disciplined for assaulting a handcuffed subject, unreasonable use of force, leaving a loaded handgun in his patrol vehicle after the end of his shift and assaulting a woman at a traffic stop, court documents showed.

He told investigators he did not know how to check for vital signs or a pulse, according to Pyburn. Law enforcement officers are required to train in those procedures.

Wong, who had been with Tucson police for almost seven years, resigned in November 2014 in lieu of the department’s decision to terminate him.

“Office Wong appeared to have changed his employment practices and was a productive employee for approximately two years from the date of his last suspension, up until this incident came to light,” Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor said in a statement.

Tucson police uses “progressive, fair and equitable” discipline guidelines to hold employees accountable for their actions and to help modify bad behavior, he said.

Wong was disciplined accordingly for past offenses so he could “continue as a productive employee,” as the city has a large financial investment in the department’s officers, Villaseñor said.

The daughter and son of Allman filed a notice of claim to the city in December 2014. The city’s lack of response forced the siblings to file suit, Pyburn said. The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages sought.

“We don’t want to ever see this happen to another family,” Pyburn said.