City to offer $224,000 in alleged pepper spray incident

Dan Kulin

Friday, June 11, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.

Henderson is preparing to pay a woman $224,000 for a December 2002 incident at the Green Valley Ranch Station hotel-casino in which Henderson Police allegedly pepper-sprayed the woman while she was handcuffed and then left her without medical attention for so long she suffered permanent eye damage.

The two police officers involved, Timothy Janda and Robert Blaskie, were both fired in July 2003 because of their actions. They are both appealing their dismissals.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to pay the woman, Jody Higgins of Henderson, to settle a lawsuit Higgins filed in federal court.

According to a Henderson police report about the incident, around 4:35 a.m. on Dec. 14, 2002, Blaskie and Janda were dispatched to Green Valley Ranch where casino security officers were having a confrontation with an intoxicated woman who would not leave the casino.

When Blaskie and Janda arrived at the casino, Higgins, then 36, was in a holding room, handcuffed to a bench. Casino security officers told Blaskie and Janda that the woman was belligerent and refused to leave the casino's "High Limit" area when asked to by casino staff, according to the police report.

Security officers told the police officers that Higgins had spit at them and kicked one of them during the struggle to put her under citizen's arrest and place her in handcuffs. The police report also said that Higgins refused to give the police officers her identification.

Then, when Blaskie and Janda went to get Higgins identification from her purse, she tried to kick Janda, and then kicked Blaskie while Janda was holding her head "in order to prevent her from spitting again."

After she kicked Blaskie, he sprayed her with the pepper spray, the police report said.

Higgins' lawsuit, which alleged excessive use of force, among other accusations against the police officers, said: "After some brief conversation the police officers became enraged and one of the forcibly grabbed Jody Higgins by the back of the neck while the other officer pepper sprayed her in the face."

The police report said after being sprayed Higgins "yelled several statements including, 'Help! I'm sorry, I didn't hurt anyone!' "

Higgins lawsuit said: "Jody Higgins begged for help and complained to the officers that she could not breathe and that she was going to die, and yet neither officer Blaskie nor officer Janda gave her any medical treatment." the lawsuit said.

Henderson City Attorney Shauna Hughes said Higgins was given medical attention after she was taken to the city jail. Higgins was charged with battery on a police officer.

Henderson police policies for using pepper spray say that suspects who have been sprayed "will be treated by rinsing the exposed areas with water prior to transportation to the detention center."

Hughes said she did not know how long it was between Higgins being pepper sprayed and receiving medical attention, but Higgins' attorney Arthur Flangas said it was two hours before Higgins' face was washed.

The police report said a jail nurse saw Higgins when she was at the Henderson Detention Center.

"She reported no injuries but complained about the effects of the pepper spray," the report said.

Flangas and Hughes would not comment on addition aspects of the case. But in a memo to City Council members Hughes said Higgins "suffered clinical keratoconjunctivitis as a result of being sprayed and not being given medical care immediately after the spraying."

Keratoconjunctivitis is a medical condition where a person has excessive dry eyes, which can lead to dehydration of the cornea. Symptoms include reduced tear production or complete loss of tears, and the dryness can also lead to scarring of the eye that can impair vision. The condition can be treated by frequently applying special eye drops.

Hughes' memo to the council said medical evidence given to the city shows Higgins will incur another $100,000 in medical expenses for the rest of her life.

Higgins' lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 5, 2003, claimed the officers used excessive force, denied her medical attention, committed battery, and intentionally caused severe emotional distress. The suit also claims the city should be held responsible for the actions of its officers.

The lawsuit asked for at least $80,000, plus attorney's fees.

The proposed $224,000 settlement was arrived at after both sides met for a mediation conference.

In responses to the allegations filed with the court, the city and the officers denied any wrongdoing.

The officers were fired after an internal investigation into the matter, Hughes memo said.

The officers' attorney Thomas Beatty said his clients were fired for "a matter related to this."

Officers Blaskie and Janda both started working for Henderson on Feb. 22, 2000, and both were fired July 16, 2003, according to city records.

Beatty said his clients' appeal of their firings is proceeding and a resolution will probably be known in "another couple of months."

Higgins' lawsuit says the city had prior knowledge of Blaskie's and Janda's "vicious propensities" and "blatant disregard for the civil rights of citizens," but did not address those conditions.

Beatty said there is no evidence his clients were ever accused of wrongdoing before this incident.