Widow sues sheriff's office, state police
URBANA – An Urbana woman is suing the Champaign County sheriff's office as well as state police in federal court, arguing that officers should have disarmed her mentally ill husband of as many as 90 firearms before he turned a gun on her, then himself.
In February 2010, Gabriel Omo-Osagie shot his wife three times and then killed himself.
Sheriff's deputies were called to the Urbana home of Omo-Osagie and his wife, Stephanie Bond, where Omo-Osagie turned the weapon on himself.
Bond and her four minor children are represented by Ellyn Bullock of Champaign.
"She was shot three times by a gun she had personally asked eight different officers from two different law enforcement agencies to remove," Bullock said.
The suit names Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh; 14 other deputies, some by badge number only; the state police, and five of its officers.
On Friday, Walsh said he hadn't seen the suit and couldn't comment on it.
The 55-page suit alleges that Omo-Osagie had control of about 60 to 90 guns; that he had stolen guns at the marital residence; that his firearm owners identification card was denied by the state police on Feb. 27, 2004 for reasons of "mental prohibitor;" that a different firearms card was revoked by the Illinois State Police on April 20, 2004, for reasons of "mental prohibitor;" and that he had a history of hiding dangerous guns with him, in his vehicles and in the family home.
The suit asks at least $50,000 from each defendant, as well as court costs.
Bullock said her client, who is "resilient" and has recovered, seeks compensation for the stress put on her family, but also seeks to see changes in the way such cases are handled, and would be responsive to those changes.
The first two counts are violation of equal protection, alleging that as a victim of abuse Bond was denied protection from her husband and his guns, with deputies telling her that a court order was required to remove the guns, among other charges.
Other counts include charging a group of officers with "willful and wanton violation of duties under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act," saying that, among other things, officers delayed removing the guns even though they were being investigated as stolen, and knew there was a danger to the family.
"It was combustible; it was a firetrap; it was going to happen," Bullock said.
Another count is for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"In domestic abuse, the state has to take every reasonable step to prevent any further violence," Bullock said.
"Stephanie was begging them to help her family," she added.
What responsibility does she have for letting him store illegal guns in the house and putting her kids in danger? Did she know these guns were there before the night of the incident. And I would think she knew better then anyone that he was mentally imbalanced. Could she have left much sooner?
I was a patient on the psych ward the night in 2004 when police had Gabe committed. His body was completely covered in bruises from fighting against the leather restraints. He was an angry, bitter man, concerned about his power and how people perceived him in the community. He bragged about all the law enforcement agents he knew in the community and how they would come to his firing range at his home to shoot guns with him. He spoke of a hatred of his wife that every patient there must have seen. There was no doubt in my mind that once released Gabe would eventually murder his wife. He spoke of all his firearms and how he always had them with him and how his wife was going to get him in trouble because she knew he was heavily armed when he dropped the kids off at school. He spoke of how his wife was going to get his fortune and that he would never allow it. The man was disturbed and I am glad he is dead. The only thing that is sad about this is that his name has not been changed on the apartment buildings he owned or the vehicles he owned. Cops loved and protected him causing his wife to be shot.
OH COME ON. She is going to sue the police department because she was too stupid to get up and leave herself. If she claimed to be so afraid why didn't she just take her kids and leave? The crazy dude wasn't there all the time. I can't believe she is blaming all this on the police dept. It was her responsibility to keep herself and her children safe. She knew all them guns was in the house and that he was mentally unstable yet she stayed. If she gets anything then our justice system is a complete joke. Not the cops fault she is stupid and stayed there.
My prayers are with this family. He was obviously sick as his actions/behavior were so far from the mainstream or what is socially acceptable. The question begs to be asked "Why wouldn't the law enforcement community help this lady knowing there where minor children there and where was the mental health community?"
Most of the time the police will give you places you can go to to get help. I'm sure they told her of those places and she chose not to go to them. In no way is the police responsible for what happened. She was told that the police had to have a search warrant in order to go into the house to even see the guns and unless something major happens they can't get one just because. They obviously didn't have a reason to suspect anything was wrong or they would have followed up. I still say it was her responsibility to leave if she was in that much fear for her life and the lives of her children. If it were me my children wouldn't have been in a household that had a bunch of guns in it to begin with. I hate to say this but I think the reason she didn't leave him as she should have was because she knew if she did she wouldn't have all the money and property she has now. The only ones I feel sorry for are the children and the fact that their mother didn't take her children into consideration before herself.
In my opinion, the law enforcement community was negligent or incompetent, probably more negligent with the current public information. Repeated attempts to get help with the guy, who if you knew him, was a “want to be thug”, were what appear to have been ignored due to some prior relationship with our local law enforcement community. As for her leaving, I agree she probably should have packed her stuff and gone. The question then is, to where and with what? Just throw the kids in the car and start over?
LeslieM, You are assuming. You know what that does.
Wow, doesn't seem that a court or jury is needed. Maybe, people can just vote on-line for the verdict. Why not wait until it is decided in court? Let the facts be presented in a court of law before judgements are made by the public. The ones who have suffered, and will continue to suffer are the kids.
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