City of Puyallup to pay $1 million to settle federal lawsuit

TACOMA (AP) – In a settlement of a federal lawsuit reached this week, the City of Puyallup has agreed to pay $940,000 to the family of a mentally ill man who died in police custody on May 2, 2001. The settlement came on Wednesday, a day after a jury hearing in the first phase of the case decided Puyallup policeman A.J. Seitz used excessive force in subduing Kelly Loomis at Good Samaritan Mental Health Services, a Puyallup mental health clinic. Loomis, who was 34, choked to death on his own vomit. Seitz remains on the Puyallup police force. The case was to continue for a week or more as the plaintiffs argued Seitz had violated Loomis’ constitutional rights and that the city had failed to properly train its police officers. Tacoma lawyer Lynn Ellsworth, who along with Mike Pfau represented the Loomis family, called the settlement a victory for his clients. “This is a tragedy that never should have happened,” Ellsworth said. “People shouldn’t die when they’re arrested.” Ellsworth said he offered to settle the case for substantially less in February but the city declined. But City attorney Gary McLean said the city settled the case to end a contentious lawsuit that was draining city resources, not because it was admitting guilt in Loomis’ death. He said he believed the jury erred by finding Seitz used excessive force and called the death of Loomis an unfortunate accident. McLean said Seitz acted appropriately and he pointed out that an inquest jury called by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office just a few months after Loomis’ death ruled the death accidental.