LAKE STEVENS — A lawsuit filed against the cities of Lake Stevens and Arlington by a woman over her 2007 arrest in connection with the death of her infant son was settled last month for $2,000.
The modest settlement amount signaled a “complete vindication for my clients,” Richard Jolley, a lawyer representing police in the case, said by e-mail Wednesday.
Bonnie Peterson two years ago faced a manslaughter charge. Her 4-month-old son died after she taped a pacifier in his mouth. Snohomish County prosecutors dropped the case after the cause of the child’s death could not be determined. She filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against police in May.
Peterson argued that her rights were violated and alleged police did not have probable cause to arrest her or have her placed in jail.
The suit named police in Arlington and Lake Stevens and county prosecutors.
Early on in the case, complaints against Snohomish County and prosecutors were dismissed, court records show. Prosecutors who act in good faith have absolute immunity from lawsuits brought by criminal defendants, and the facts were clear in this case, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik ruled. Still, the fact that prosecutors would be included in a civil suit so incensed county officials they asked the judge to sanction Peterson’s attorney, Thomas Olmstead of Poulsbo.
Lasnik declined to levy sanctions, ruling that Olmstead’s “actions (did) not rise to the level of misbehavior” but also weren’t supported by the law.
Olmstead did not return calls seeking comment.
Jolley said his clients agreed to settle the case because mounting a legal defense would have been too costly.
“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,” he said.
Jolley called the entire circumstances around the case 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 child wasn’t breathing. Noah was dead when paramedics arrived.
Later, police found evidence that Peterson, who was then known as Bonnie Desmond, 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.
“I was very confident that our officers acted appropriately,” Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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