Northglenn Pays $8.75 Million Settlement In 2017 Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting
NORTHGLENN, Colo. (CBS4) - A $8.75 million settlement is considered to be the largest in Colorado for an officer-involved shooting case, but the parents of a man killed by Northglenn police say the money means nothing without their son.
"If he was in the wrong for being inside a stolen car, he should have had a pair of handcuffs, not a bullet in the head," said Melanie Shelton, the mother of Jeremy Patscheck. "When he entered the room, he would brighten the room with his smile. He was funny, he was smart, always loving."
On Dec. 13, 2017, three Northglenn Police Officers jumped out of an SUV and took positions on either side of a Honda Civic they believed was stolen. It was 3:30 a.m., but police had been tracking the movement of the Civic for hours. Inside the car, and likely asleep, were Patscheck and his girlfriend Serina Minella.
"They just take it upon themselves to walk up to the window and start shooting, and it just doesn't make sense to me," said David Patscheck, Jeremy's father.
A police investigation says the officers started yelling commands, then Patscheck turned on the car and tried to get away. Officers Zachery Schieferecke and Emil Szernicki started firing to protect officer Nathan Galluzzo, who was allegedly in the car's path.
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Galluzzo fired at least four shots. Patscheck was pronounced dead at the scene. Minella is now paralyzed from the neck down.
"A vibrant young woman, who was a black belt and loved to hike and be outdoors, is now forever trapped in a body she has no ability to control. No one will ever fully understand our family's struggle to learn how to care for Serina, what it takes physically and mentally, and, having coming to terms with the fact that it is now our full time job," said Minella's parents in a statement to CBS4.
The district attorney said he didn't believe he could prove beyond a reasonable doubt, what the officers did was criminal. By February 2019, all of the officers associated with the case had left the Northglenn Police Department.
The city wouldn't say why four officers had left, citing employment matters.
"This was a heavy, heavy incident. That had a lot of impact on a lot of people and that isn't something we take lightly. It is something that will never be forgotten, it's something that we will always remember and always look back on and do our best to learn and do better as we move forward," said Diana Wilson, the Director of Communications for the City of Northglenn.
But the families of Patscheck and Minella say the size of the civil lawsuit settlement shows the officers' actions were wrong.
"The Northglenn police caused so much damage and harm in that shooting; there will never be adequate compensation. We are, however, grateful that this case is over, and we can now start to move past this in some way. We can finally start to have a different discussion. Now we can focus on our future as a family and getting Serina the equipment and living conditions she needs to help her have a better quality of life," said Minella's parents in a statement.
"They get to walk like a free man, and in my eyes they committed murder and attempted murder. Just because they were able to hide behind the badge they could walk free, and I think that's very wrong," said David.
"I'm upset because I feel like there should have been consequences," said Shelton. "They did the crime and we're doing the time for it. We've been given a life sentence without my son."
The Northglenn Police Department is currently going under an audit. In 2019, the city hired a consulting firm to review the department.
"We thought bringing in an outside consulting agency to take a look at our department and give us some feedback from a fresh perspective on how do we serve our community well? What can we do to improve? It is truly looking at every aspect of the police department and looking at our community and what they need. And also looking at industry standards and how do we compare, what are best practices, what could we realistically put into our department to take care of Northglenn, keep them safe."
Community meetings are planned for Monday, Feb. 24 from 3:30-5 p.m. at the Northglenn Senior Center and Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Northglenn Justice Center.
