The settlement was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission at a regular business meeting Monday.
KALAMAZOO, MI — The city of Kalamazoo will offer to pay $810,000 to the family of a man who died in police custody.
The proposed settlement was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission at a regular business meeting Monday. Kalamazoo City Attorney Clyde Robinson said the settlement came after negotiations in U. S. District Court with an attorney for the family of James Dunigan.
Dunigan died in police custody in May 2016. Dunigan’s family filed a lawsuit against Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Officers Derek Nugent and Eric Shaffer in November 2016, saying they ignored Dunigan’s medical problems until it was too late.
Family of man who died in police custody files lawsuit
James Dunigan died May 6 after he was transported from Bronson Methodist Hospital to the Kent County Jail. He had been arrested at the hospital for trespassing because he refused to leave the building and resisted officers trying to get him out of a wheelchair.
Medical staff earlier had looked at the 57-year-old Dunigan after he complained of chest pains, but they discharged him about 4:30 a.m.
Attorneys for his family alleged Nugent and Schaffer knew Dunigan was “suffering and showing clear and visible signs of distress.” They claimed the officers showed a “deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs” even when he was foaming at the mouth in the back seat of a police cruiser.
In the lawsuit, attorneys alleged the officers made comments that Dunigan was “just acting” and continued on to the jail.
Dunigan later died after jail staff, with the assistance of the two officers, tried to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at 7:41 a.m.
An autopsy showed he died of “hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and end stage renal disease complicated by acute intoxication by the combined effects of hydrocodone, diphenhydramine, ephedrine and gabapentin.”
Man’s death in police custody ruled accidental but 2 officers suspended
The death was ruled accidental and Kalamazoo police administrators said it was due to his “significant medical and personal history.” The two officers were suspended for one day for violating policy regarding medical attention.
“Specifically, the officers should have recognized Mr. Dunigan’s condition and sought medical treatment,” Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley said in August 2016.
According to a police summary issued in June, the officers did stop the cruiser while transporting Dunigan because they heard what appeared to be him snoring. They conducted a sternal rub for pain reaction and level of consciousness, and shined a light in his eyes in which he blinked and closed his eyes, police said. The officers then continued to the jail.
