Family of 2019 homicide victim files lawsuit against Columbus police
The family of a woman who was shot and killed by her boyfriend in July 2019 have sued five veteran Columbus police officers, a 911 police dispatcher and the city over the alleged mishandling of a domestic violence call the day before the homicide.
According to the lawsuit filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Columbus officers responded to the Genesseeavenue home of 32-year-old Deborah Saenz on July 11, 2019, after she called 911. The lawsuit states that during the 911 call, Saenz told dispatchers she had been beaten, her boyfriend had firearms and was heard screaming before the call disconnected.
Five officers who reportedly responded to the scene were identified in the lawsuit as Matthew Caldwell, a nineyear veteran, John Coaty, a 21-year veteran, Todd Eagon, a 19-year veteran, Sean Noltemeyer, a 18-year veteran, and Rodney Reed, a 25-year veteran.
The lawsuit alleges the officers separated Saenz and her boyfriend, then-22-year-old Marcos Solis, to ask them about what was going on at the home. According to the lawsuit, there was a broken window between the outdoor area where Solis was talking to officers and the indoor room where Saenz was speaking to officers, allowing Solis to potentially hear what was being said and preventing Saenz from being forthcoming with police.
In a response filed by the Columbus City Attorney's office, which is representing the officers, the city said some or all of the officers were not aware of the broken window.
The lawsuit also alleges an open gun case was lying in plain view on a bed inside the apartment and that officers failed to ask Saenz about any firearms being in the home or search for a firearm. Solis was a convicted felon who was not legally permitted to possess or have access to a firearm.
The officers on the scene were not able to get what they believed to be was a full story about what was occurring from Saenz, according to the lawsuit, and classified the run as a “16-B,” or a mental disturbance, “effectively dismissing what (Saenz) was saying and undermining her credibility,” the lawsuit said.
Officers left without making an arrest or forcing Solis to leave the premises, according to the suit. A short time later, the lawsuit contends another 911 call was received from the same address, but the phone hung up without anyone speaking to dispatchers and a call back from dispatchers to the number was not answered.
The lawsuit alleges the 911 dispatcher, Laura Thomas, a 20-year city employee, did not alert officers to the additional call. Thomas is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with the city.
On July 12, 2019, another 911 call was received from the North Linden home, this time from Solis, who told dispatchers he had shot Saenz. She was rushed to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center but did not survive her injuries.
Solis has been charged with murder and is currently awaiting trial, which is scheduled for March 2022. He is being held in the Franklin County jail.
According to court records, Solis had a prior conviction for felonious assault after slashing the throat of a classmate at West High School with a box cutter. Solis had multiple tattoos that indicated he was in a prison gang, according to the lawsuit, and discussed those with officers who responded to the home on July 11.