LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- The husband of a woman who was shot and killed by a Lee County deputy in 2017 is suing the deputy and the sheriff's office for damages, claiming a wrongful death in the case.
The shooting happened on August 31, 2017 on Lazy Way in Fort Myers Beach.
That afternoon, deputies responded to the home of 54-year-old Debi Thorkelson after a 911 call. A stand-off occurred at the home, and a little more than an hour after their arrival, deputies say Thorkelson raised a rifle in their direction from the porch and a deputy fired at her, striking her in the chest and killing her.
"Our deputy feared for his life and safety, and he discharged his firearm," said then-undersheriff and current Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno that night.
#BREAKING The family of a woman shot and killed by a LCSO deputy back in 2017 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the agency. Just so happens Sheriff Carmine Marceno is announcing his bid for re-election tonight. More details at 5 @Fox4Now
— Allyssa Dickert (@AllyssaDickert) April 23, 2019
According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by David Thorkelson, Debi suffered from mental health disorders and had been Baker Acted nine times previous to the shooting.
The lawsuit claims the alleged weapon Debi had was an unloaded BB gun, and that despite her threats to shoot everyone, witnesses said the gun was "obviously a BB gun."
“The facts are this officer took this shot knowing it was a BB gun, he was never disciplined, he was never changed with misconduct, he was never reprimanded,” said Stuart Kaplan, Kaplan and Parker Attorney's at Law.
David Thorton says before the shooting, he contacted the Lee County Sheriff's Office to inform them that Debi was only armed with a BB gun. The lawsuit says deputies were advised of this, and that no Crisis Intervention Team engaged with Debi, despite clear signs of mental illness.
The lawsuit names Deputy Robert Casale, who reportedly fired the fatal shot, and Sheriff Carmine Marceno, and seeks compensation for damages due to excessive force.
‘With absolutely no forensic evidence of any blood or any indication that Debi Thorkelson was actually possessing that rifle at the time he shot her was very troubling and very compelling to show that there was no need to use deadly force,” said Kaplan.
In April of 2018 the State Attorney's Office did a legal review of this case and determined, "Captain Robert Casale was justified in using deadly force to protect others."
“I’ve never had a cases that I’ve been involved in I’ve never has a case where the State Attorney’s Office hasn’t cleared the officer and I look at it as a rubber stamp,” said Kaplan.
Fox 4 asked Sheriff Carmine Marceno about the lawsuit Tuesday night at his re-election bid event, he declined to comment.
--------------------------
(Original coverage of the shooting)
