By Wanda J. Demarzo, The Miami Herald
Read the Fatta family’s letter of intent to sue
(Acrobat-PDF file)
The family of slain Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Fatta is moving forward with a wrongful death suit against BSO.
A letter indicating the family’s intention to sue was faxed to the sheriff’s office around noon today. The letter states that Fatta died as a direct result of BSO’s actions.
Around 8:30 a.m. Aug. 19, Fatta was shot and killed by alleged child pornographer Kenneth Wilk. The deputy was part of a task force attempting to serve a federal warrant on Wilk.
The family claims that BSO should have sent a SWAT team to serve the warrant, because the agency knew that Wilk had weapons in his home and had threatened officers in the past. The SWAT officers have tougher vests than the Kevlar protection Fatta was wearing when he was shot. In addition, they are specially trained to handle potentially explosive situations.
“It is unfortunate that the family has been put in this position and has to jump through all these hoops to get the information they have been requesting,” said the family’s attorney, Andrew Yaffa. ‘We thought they were going to be cooperative and give the family the information they wanted about Todd’s death. Instead they called us today to tell us ‘We’re not interested in meeting.’”
The Fatta family says its relationship with BSO has been strained since the day Fatta was gunned down. They said a captain from the West Seneca, N.Y., Police Department knocked on their door around 9:30 a.m. and handed Josie Fatta a piece of paper with BSO’s telephone number.
Josie Fatta called the number and learned that her youngest child had been killed in the line of duty.
“The way she was informed of her son’s death is consistent with the way they have been treated by BSO for the last few months,” Yaffa said.
“I keep expecting to see him, to hear his voice,” Josie Fatta said. “Every breath I take is painful.”
The Fatta family has complained that they were not allowed to view their son’s body for three days after his death, although they flew into town immediately.
“They said his body wasn’t ready to be looked at,” Joe Fatta Jr. said. “But my parents wanted to see him. They wanted to be with him.”
The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office had the body, according to BSO.
The family also were not allowed into their son’s Pompano Beach home for three days. “Because he was single, it is routine for BSO to secure the employee’s home, knowing it will likely be vacant, and will be the focus of widespread publicity,” spokeswoman Cheryl Stopnick said.
When they finally went inside, they saw that the home had been searched, and Todd Fatta’s uniforms taken.
“BSO-issued property is brought back to BSO,” Stopnick said.
BSO also took Fatta’s three personal weapons -- handguns and a semi-automatic rifle, according to Joe Fatta Sr.
Josie Fatta wants her son’s wallet returned, but it is part of the investigation, BSO said.
The family claims that BSO Chaplain Rick Braswell asked them to remove a paragraph from the eulogy they prepared for Todd Fatta’s memorial service. The sentences asked that his death be thoroughly investigated to prevent future needless deaths.
“He took us aside and said there were a lot of people who don’t want to be reminded of what happened,” said Joe Fatta Jr.
“I didn’t want to take it out,” he said. “But at that time, they were going out of their way to be nice to my parents and I didn’t want to cause any friction.”
They buried the original handwritten eulogy with Todd Fatta.
Braswell denied that he told the family to take anything out of the eulogy.
He said Monday his only concern was for the Fattas and the law-enforcement family.
“I did tell them that we should all love each other and get through this together,” Braswell said.
Todd Fatta was buried in New York, outside the family home in Buffalo.
The Fattas flew into town Friday to deal with Todd’s Pompano Beach home. The family met with Yaffa Monday afternoon and flew home Tuesday.
“I don’t feel like they really care about my brother,” said Joe Fatta Jr. “They want what happened swept under the rug. I have a real sore spot for them, a lot of bitterness. I want to know why they sent Todd in without the proper equipment.”