Mother sues NM police and paramedics over response to son’s suicide who was wrongfully declared dead

By Nicholas Gilmore
The Santa Fe New Mexican

SANTA FE, NM – The mother of a man who survived a suicide attempt in Santa Fe two years ago claims in a new lawsuit that first responders’ inaction caused her son to suffer irreparable brain damage.

Gena Waterman, who filed her complaint against the Santa Fe city police and fire departments in state district court last week, accuses first responders of not taking action to save Jerome Tapia’s life until about two hours after he shot himself to save – although the officers saved his life. Relatives and other witnesses prevented access to the crime scene while confirming that he had shown signs of life.

A city spokesman declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit, citing the city’s policy of not commenting on pending litigation.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of employment, and loss of earnings and earning capacity.

Tapia is now blind and “totally incapacitated,” the lawsuit says, due to delayed medical care after she suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound in September 2022.

Santa Fe attorney Marc Edwards, who is representing Waterman in the civil suit, said in a brief interview Monday: “The allegations in this lawsuit appear to be fictitious, but I can assure you that is not the case.”

According to the lawsuit, city police and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the shooting on Siler Park Lane at approximately 4:30 a.m. on September 25, 2022. Witnesses at the scene told officers that Tapia, then 18, shot himself in the head.

Officers secured the crime scene with crime scene tape and blocked the entrance with a police vehicle, the lawsuit says. Paramedics arrived around 4:40 a.m

Emergency medical personnel wrote in a report that they could detect “agonal breathing” at a rate of “approximately once every 20 to 30 seconds,” the lawsuit says, but police body camera video “clearly shows Mr. Tapia doing his breathing.” Head moving and breathing.” was rapid and not “agonal” or “0” as documented by SFFD emergency medical personnel.”

Medical staff examined Tapia for approximately 31 seconds; Although the field electrocardiogram was next to him, it was not used, according to the lawsuit. Less than two minutes after arriving at the scene, paramedics packed the ambulance for transport, the complaint states.

Paramedics “determined that Mr. Tapia was apparently dead and would not be transported,” the complaint states.

Within two minutes of the paramedics’ departure and two hours afterward, the lawsuit says, Tapia showed “obvious and undeniable signs of life,” including “rapid breathing, movements and occasional waving of arms, moaning, screaming, screaming noises, and rolling.” .” on the side and finally tried to sit up at the end of this two-hour period.”

During this time, it goes on to say, “SFPD body camera footage shows that at least seven SFPD officers did nothing other than observe Mr. Tapia’s moans, movements and breathing, and comment on one another.”

Tapia’s girlfriend, her parents and a friend “repeatedly told officers from outside the taped crime scene that Mr. Tapia was moving and moaning and was still alive,” the lawsuit says.

About an hour after the incident began, an officer can be heard in video footage saying, “It makes you think if he’s still there somewhere,” the complaint states.

Still, the lawsuit says, the officers “did nothing other than reject civilian witnesses who wanted to help Mr. Tapia.”

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When the witnesses pleaded with them to help Tapia, “SFPD officers kept them away from him,” the complaint states.

Minutes later, Tapia can be heard in the footage “moaning loudly for well over four minutes,” and afterward, an officer says to others, “Are the witnesses in a vehicle where they’re not going to hear that?” according to the complaint.

Another officer responded: “They actually came out and said he was alive and moving. I think we need to move them.”

The lawsuit states that shortly afterward, an officer was heard saying, “His stomach is still rising and falling – he’s a fighter.”

When Tapia finally “lifted his head and attempted to stand up on his own at approximately 6:20 a.m.,” the complaint states, police called emergency responders back to the scene.

Paramedics took Tapia to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and he was then airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital.

The lawsuit alleges that city employees acted negligently and violated Tapia’s civil rights; It argues that the first responders’ actions during the call were “shocking to the conscience.”

The lawsuit states that Tapia – who is now blind – can perform most activities of daily living with assistance and that his ability to verbally express his thoughts and feelings has improved with therapy. But it says a “critical threshold” of time was missed to provide Tapia with improved neurological outcomes.

“It is almost certain, not just probable, that Mr. Tapia suffered additional, unnecessary damage to surrounding brain tissue in the ensuing, nearly two-hour delay,” the lawsuit says, arguing his life would be “dramatically different” if it were immediate Medical care was provided after the shooting.

“City police officers and emergency medical personnel acted with deliberate indifference to Mr. Tapia’s serious medical needs while simultaneously cutting off any source of private assistance, thereby increasing the danger and risks Mr. Tapia faced,” the lawsuit says.

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