Lawsuit over Lake Stevens mom’s arrest settled

Published 12:41 pm Wednesday, April 14, 2010

LAKE STEVENS — A lawsuit filed against the cities of Lake Stevens and Arlington by a woman over her arrest in connection with the death of her infant son was settled last month for $2,000.

The small settlement amount signaled a “complete vindication for my clients,” Richard Jolley, a lawyer representing police in the case, said by e-mail today.

Bonnie Peterson in 2007 faced a manslaughter charge in her baby’s death after taping a pacifier in his mouth. She filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against police in May.

She argued that her rights were violated and alleged police did not have probable cause to arrest her or have her placed in jail.

“The cities of Arlington, Lake Stevens and the individually named detectives from the two departments agreed to settle the case,” Jolley said. “We were certain that we would win this case, but could not justify the expense of seeing the case through the process when we could settle it for such a miniscule, nuisance value amount.”

Jolley said the baby’s death was tragic. He said Peterson’s decision to file a lawsuit against the police and prosecutors involved in her case “demonstrated extremely poor judgment.”

“My clients did nothing wrong, and Plaintiff was extremely fortunate to avoid criminal prosecution and conviction for contributing to her baby’s death,” he said.

Peterson was 19 in June 2007 when her newborn, Noah, died. She woke up and found the 4-month-old wasn’t breathing. Noah was dead when paramedics arrived.

Later, police found evidence that Peterson, who went by Desmond at the time, had used tape to secure a pacifier to the infant’s mouth, had tied the baby up with pajamas and had fed the child peanut butter, court documents said.

Although prosecutors charged Peterson in Everett District Court alleging manslaughter, the case was dismissed within weeks when it wasn’t swiftly brought to Snohomish County Superior Court.

In September 2007, Snohomish County prosecutors decided against pursuing the case after a medical examiner’s report showed no connection between what Peterson did and the child’s death.

The cause of the child’s death has never been determined.

The settlement in the civil case was formalized March 18 in U.S. District Court in Seattle.