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ANNE BROACHEThe negligence suit claims Bob White and did not train Deputy Erica Fernandez properly in the use of deadly force or in handling crisis interventions.
DADE CITY - Days before the two-year anniversary of his wife's killing by a Pasco County sheriff's deputy, a husband is suing Sheriff Bob White and the deputy involved.
The attorney for Byron Jones, widower of Sharleen "Sally" Jones, filed a negligence lawsuit Thursday seeking compensation for damages he and his daughter, Holly, have suffered since Sally Jones' death. The complaint stated that the damages exceed $15,000 and range from mental pain and loss of companionship to medical and funeral expenses.
The complaint charged that Sheriff White failed "to hire, train and supervise Deputy (Erica) Fernandez in the proper use of handguns and the use of deadly force," as well as in procedures for law enforcement and crisis intervention.
It claimed that Fernandez behaved with "willful disregard of human rights and safety."
The complaint said Byron had presented written claims to the sheriff and the Florida Department of Insurance in June 2002 and the Florida Sheriff's Self Insurance Fund in February 2003. Those claims were denied, the complaint said.
Byron's attorney, Joel Epperson, could not be reached for comment.
Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said the office had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit.
"At this point, we have no comment," Doll said.
Mrs. Jones was 39 on May 22, 2002, when she was fatally shot by Fernandez, then 24, at Dan's Fine Jewelry store just outside Zephyrhills.
About a month later, Fernandez was cleared of wrongdoing by officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office. Because of the circumstances, they ruled the shooting was justified.
"This is not an easy decision," White said at the time. "There is no winner here."
Authorities said Fernandez was sent to check on Mrs. Jones after federal investigators in Chicago received an e-mail she had written, indicating she was suicidal.
The official investigation report from June 2002 provided the following account, parts of which family members disputed:
The Sheriff's Office dispatched Fernandez and another deputy at 11:17 a.m., about 15 minutes after receiving the call from Chicago officials. Ferndandez first checked the Joneses' residence. Finding no one home, she moved on, alone, to the jewelry store, which Mrs. Jones' husband owned.
Upon Fernandez's arrival, Mrs. Jones, standing behind the cash register, said she knew the reason for Fernandez's visit. She told Fernandez she'd planned to kill herself a day earlier and said "no" when Fernandez suggested she get help.
Seeing a gun in Mrs. Jones' hand, Fernandez said she raised her own. Fernandez asked Mrs. Jones what she was going to do with the gun. Mrs. Jones said she didn't know, then pointed her weapon toward Fernandez, the report said.
Fernandez then fired three times, hitting Mrs. Jones twice in the chest and once in the ankle.
The whole episode lasted less than five minutes. Byron Jones arrived in time to see his wife fall.
The first step toward filing a lawsuit came in June 2002, when Epperson sent the Sheriff's Office a letter stating that Jones' family intended to sue. The state requires that government bodies be given six months' notice so they have the chance to settle cases before lawsuits are filed.