Settlement expected in Metro suit

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.

The husband of a woman who was dragged through Palace Station last year by a Metro Police officer is expected to settle a federal lawsuit against the department for $200,000, officials said.

Paula Sadoff, 56, died in September after having a heart attack in her sleep. Her 84-year-old husband, Robert Sadoff, went forward with the suit, which originally demanded $4 million from Metro.

The department's fiscal oversight committee is scheduled to formally approve the settlement Nov. 22.

Metro's lawyer, Walt Cannon, said the department chose to settle the case to bring closure to the parties involved, adding that the conduct of the officer who dragged the woman, Matthew Vorce, is the subject of an internal investigation.

"We believed at this point that it was in everyone's best interest -- the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Mr. Sadoff -- to put this case behind us," he said.

Brent Bryson, Robert Sadoff's attorney, said that under the circumstances, the settlement was the best possible outcome.

"The reason (for the settlement) is because Paula is dead and is unable to give testimony," Bryson said. "Bob is 84 years old, and it was determined that he would rather live out his life in a manner that does not involve litigation."

The lawsuit alleged that Paula Sadoff suffered a broken wrist and a shattered kneecap while being manhandled and dragged through the lobby of the hotel on Sept. 7, 2003.

Part of the suit was a video showing Sadoff, who was handcuffed, being dragged out the doors of the hotel lobby by Vorce as onlookers stop and stare. It is unclear whether or not Sadoff was conscious as she was dragged.

Vorce is still on duty, said Capt. Marc Joseph, who oversees the internal affairs section, but an investigation into his conduct is ongoing.

He has been a patrol officer for about two years and now works out of the Bolden Area Command in West Las Vegas.

Sadoff was "slammed against a police car and then slammed her on her knees on the concrete" once she was outside the lobby, according to the lawsuit.

Police were called to the hotel earlier in the night after Sadoff and her husband had argued in Jack's Irish Pub and then kept arguing in their adjoining rooms.

The Sadoffs were arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, but the charges were dropped.

They spent a night in jail, and when they were released, Paula Sadoff went to University Medical Center where doctors determined she had a fractured wrist and a shattered kneecap, she said.

"I think that (Sheriff Bill Young) in coming forward and resolving this matter took the high road and I think he should be credited for that," Bryson said.

Palace Station, also a defendant, has not settled, he said.

The lawsuit alleges that the hotel's security officers did not investigate enough before calling Metro and caused Sadoff to be humiliated by allowing her to be dragged through the lobby.

The lawsuit sought $10,000 in compensatory damages from the hotel, and $3 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages from Metro.