Family seeks $11.5M for officer's deadly fall
The family of a Casa Grande police officer killed during a Pinal County SWAT training exercise is seeking $11.5 million for his death.
Lawyers representing the family filed a notice of claim - a settlement offer before a lawsuit - with the county Tuesday.
Sgt. Tate Lynch, 36, died Oct. 25 when he fell nearly 50 feet while rappelling off a Pinal County detention center in Florence.
The claim asks $4 million for his widow, Christie Lynch, and $2.5 million for each of his three children, stating that negligent acts by the sheriff's office "caused and contributed" to Lynch's death.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety investigation of Lynch's death was released to the Tribune this week. The DPS report and an investigation by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health show that few safety measures or precautions were taken and little instruction, if any, was provided to Lynch and other rappellers. The investigations found:
No safety checks were done on equipment.
The instructor overseeing the exercise lacked qualification, with training only from an intermediate rappelling class.
No safety spotters or equipment, including helmets, were used. The rope used during Lynch's rappel was too thin for the device he was using, causing it to slip.
Lynch was a two-year member of the sheriff's office SWAT team, made up of officers from several police departments in Pinal County. He was doing the rappelling exercise as part of required training.
Lynch was one of the last scheduled to rappel.
After he climbed over the wall, Lynch dropped a short distance and stopped for a few seconds before going into a free-fall, records show. On the way down, he hit his head on the wall and landed on a steel mesh picnic table.
The medical examiner determined that Lynch died from blunt force head trauma, and investigators calculated that he hit the table at more than 20 mph.
Lynch and other rappellers were told by the officer running the exercise, Ben Cook, that they didn't need helmets, DPS records show. There were also no safety spotters, or belays, even though it was the first time many of the SWAT officers had ever rappelled and the first time the sheriff's office used a new descending device.
A belay is a spotter who stands above or below a rappeller and can pull on excess rope to stop a descent - something required by safety regulations and used by other SWAT teams.
ADOSH issued two $7,000 fines against the sheriff's office in April. Sheriff's officials have hired a law firm to challenge the agency's findings and fines.
But it's not clear whether DPS will recommend charges for Lynch's death or if further action will be taken.
Detective Jennifer McGrath, the DPS investigator, did not return calls seeking comment, and department officials said they will not comment on the investigation without the consent of the sheriff's office or Casa Grande city officials.
The Pinal County Attorney's Office has not been given the report from DPS, which is awaiting test results from ASU on equipment worn and used by Lynch. Officials said it will be a few weeks until tests are completed.
Since Lynch's death, the sheriff's office has suspended all rappelling exercises and is reorganizing SWAT command and procedures. It has also created a position to oversee training and formed a review board of experts from outside police departments.
The sheriff's office has declined to comment on the investigations, and lawyers representing the Lynch family did not return calls Thursday.
