MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Legal Newsline) – The estate of a man who committed suicide who convinced an officer to let him out of a transport car on the way to a mental hospital has sued that police department.
The Estate of Ryan Mitchell sued the Wisconsin city of Waupun on March 11 in federal court. Mitchell committed suicide in November 2017 after informing the city’s police department he was suicidal and had attempted to hang himself.
Grant Nass was tasked with taking Mitchell from Waupun Memorial Hospital to St. Agnes Behavioral Health in Fond du Lac, the lawsuit says.
“Mitchell asked Navis to let him out of the squad car so he could walk home to retrieve his vehicle and drive himself to St. Agnes,” the lawsuit says.
Permission was granted by another officer, Trevor Kreitzman. But Mitchell drove to a different location and hanged himself.
“No one from the Waupun Police Department followed or otherwise tracked Mitchell to ensure he went to St. Agnes,” the suit says. “The City of Waupun, as a matter of policy, failed to protect Mitchell. Instead, it placed Mitchell in a zone of danger.”
Erik Johnson of Gregory R Wright Law Offices in Montello is representing the plaintiff.