Lawyers for a Colorado man told a federal appeals court Monday that there is clear evidence Portland police officers and firefighters were not properly trained to intervene in mental health situations, did not call in a mental health professional and did not try to save his son’s life.
John Cohen, of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is appealing a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torresen that his lawsuit against the city of Portland didn’t raise enough evidence for a jury to consider his allegations that the city and firefighter Ronald Giroux Jr. caused the death of his son Eric.
“They did not get someone on that beach that could have communicated with Mr. Cohen in a way that would have helped him come to shore,” Cohen’s attorney, Verne Paradie, told the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
Eric Cohen was 25 when he drowned in the frigid waters of Portland’s Back Cove on the afternoon of April 12, 2020. He ran into the water naked around 1:23 p.m. after assaulting his girlfriend. His father says that Cohen “was experiencing some form of psychosis” at the time. The air temperature that day was about 41 degrees.
Cohen, who had a history of mental health issues, got into an argument with his girlfriend while they were walking down Marginal Way near the Miss Portland Diner. Police say that Cohen unexpectedly stripped off his clothes. His girlfriend began to pick up his clothing and attempted to calm him down, but Cohen beat her unconscious and assaulted a bystander who intervened, according to court records.
Cohen then ran behind the diner and across Interstate 295, and then jumped into the Back Cove. He was pulled from the water by firefighters 24 minutes later and taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The state medical examiner ruled that Cohen’s manner of death was an accident and listed the cause of death as drowning and hypothermia.
Kasia Park, an attorney representing the city, argued Monday that the lower court properly found that there was no evidence that the actions of people on the scene that day created or enhanced the danger that Cohen faced when he ran into the water. She said the police officers and firefighters were not dealing just with someone who was having a mental health issue, but a combative suspect who had been involved in a violent assault.
Paradie said the city violated its own policies by not adequately training police officers to respond to mental health calls and not using crisis intervention team tactics to try to resolve the situation.
Torresen said in her ruling late last year that the city’s training is adequate. She said the Portland Police Department already trains its officers on mental health crisis intervention, beginning with a one-time 40-hour training course developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Paradie told the court on Monday that Cohen was lying on the beach when an officer got out of his car and started chasing him, causing him to go into the water. At that point, one person on shore was mocking him, he said.
“They purposefully didn’t take action to try to save his life,” Paradie said, noting there is strong body camera evidence to support his arguments.
Park argued that the city did not force Cohen into the water. The officer who was pursuing him was 150 feet away and Cohen could have taken multiple routes that did not include going into the water, she said.
“Yes, they were chasing him because he had just committed a domestic violence assault, but they did not corner him,” Park said.
The court did not indicate when it would rule on the appeal.
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