$7.9 million settlement reached in Delnor Hospital hostage incident
Kane County IL December 20 2018
A Delnor Hospital nurse held hostage and sexually assaulted by a hospitalized jail inmate received $7.2 million in a lawsuit settlement agreement with Kane County.
Four nurses filed a federal lawsuit after Tywon Salters, an inmate getting treatment at the hospital, took a handgun from a guard, took two nurses captive, sexually assaulted one of them and ultimately died at the hands of a SWAT team on May 13, 2017, according to court documents and an Illinois State Police report.
The settlement totals $7.9 million, with a nurse who was taken hostage receiving $650,000 and two other nurses receiving $25,000 each, according to documents obtained in an open records request. Salters pointed a gun at and threatened the third nurse and the fourth nurse was in the area while the incident occurred, according to court documents.
The Kane County Board voted Nov. 13 to pay a $200,000 contribution toward the settlement and the rest of the nearly $8 million was covered by its insurance company, which had decided to settle the suit.
The nurses sued Kane County, Deputy Shawn Loomis, Salters, and security contractor Apex 3 Security LLC. The settlement releases Kane County, the sheriff’s office and Loomis from all liabilities stemming from the incident, documents state.
Federal court records do not show whether the suit has been dismissed, but the nurses and their spouses agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in the settlement.
A federal judge ruled in November that the nurses and their spouses’ signatures be redacted on any settlement documents released to the public to protect their anonymity, records show. The nurses are identified as Jane Doe I, II, III and IV in the suit to protect their privacy.
Kane County jail inmate Salters, 21, from Chicago, was at the Geneva hospital May 13, 2017, recovering from surgery after he ate part of a jail-issued sandal.
He was in a patient room when Loomis unshackled Salters so he could use the toilet, according to an Illinois State Police summary report. Salters overpowered Loomis and stole his .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol with about 12 to 16 rounds inside.
One of the nurses was sitting in her office when Salters, wearing only a white cloth bandage across his torso, locked the door and demanded the nurse take off her clothes, officials said. He pointed a gun at her, took her pink hospital scrubs and demanded her phone and car keys.
‘We may both be leaving in body bags’: State police report details fatal Delnor Hospital standoff
Salters told another nurse to get in the elevator and bring him to the first floor. Salters and the nurse were going to leave from an ambulance bay, but they then saw officers arriving on scene.
Salters turned around and went into a decontamination room with the nurse, holding her hostage for several hours with a gun to her head, officials said. Salters hit her with a gun, threatened to kill her and raped her, according to the lawsuit.
Salters fired a shot into the room, and within seconds police officers came through the door. The standoff ended when a North Aurora SWAT officer shot and killed Salters. The bullet killed Salters and also struck the nurse in her arm, according to the lawsuit.
Loomis has been on paid administrative leave since the incident. Nurses alleged in the lawsuit that Loomis hid in another hospital room and did not call for help after he was attacked.
All parties agreed to not disclose if a settlement was reached unless they were asked. If asked, they are instructed to say, “This matter has been dismissed with prejudice pursuant to the terms of a settlement agreement, and the terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.”
The Kane County sheriff was instructed to say that he cannot comment on litigation on the advice of the Kane County state’s attorney.
Since the incident, the sheriff’s office has assigned two officers to each inmate taken to the hospital. Delnor is down the street from the county’s jail and where most inmates go for treatment.
Days before Salters took nurses hostage, Kane County Corrections Sgt. Michael Huston sent an email warning other officers of Salters’ desperation to escape.
Sgt. Michael Huston sent the email at 10:30 p.m. May 8, 2017, to 19 correctional officers. The Beacon-News received the email through a Freedom of Information Act request.
“Salters ate part of his shoe, was sent to the E.R. and is about to undergo surgery,” Huston wrote. “Salters should be considered an extreme escape risk as he is desperate to not be in custody. He should be restrained with leg irons hooked up to the bed at all times.”
Chicago Tribune
