Mother of slain cop sues Walgreens, security company and guard
JERSEY CITY NJ Aug 23 2017-– The mother of slain Jersey City Police Officer Melvin Vincent Santiago has filed an eight-count lawsuit against Walgreens and others, alleging the pharmacy did not provide adequate security on the night her son was killed.
The wrongful death suit, which was filed by Santiago’s mother, Catherine McBride, names Walgreen Eastern Co., the security guard working at the Kennedy Boulevard store at the time of the July 13, 2014 shooting, and the security company that employed him.
On the morning Santiago was shot, Lawrence Campbell assaulted a security guard at the Walgreens and took his gun. Store employees hid in a back room and one of them called 911. In the parking lot, Campbell told someone that something bad was going to happen and that he would read his name in the news the next day, officials said.
Santiago and his partner arrived at about 4:11 a.m. and Campbell opened fire as Santiago exited the police cruiser, striking him in the head. Simultaneously, additional officers arrived and shot Campbell dead.
The lawsuit says statistics show 24-hour stores are prime targets for robberies and most robberies happen between Friday and Sunday. Santiago died on a Sunday morning. Regardless, Walgreens stopped hiring off-duty officers to provide security at the establishment years ago, the suit says.
“In order to increase profits, the owners and operators of the pharmacy elected to provide reduced security at the pharmacy citing budget concerns,” and did not provide sufficient security shopper patrons and others, the suit alleges.
It says the defendants were negligent and careless by “willfully and wantonly” failing to provide appropriate security and that it led to Santiago being killed and resulted in “grievous damage” to McBride.
The lawsuit states that the security company — S.E.B. Security in Egg Harbor — and the guard on duty were contractually responsible for providing for Santiago’s safety the night he was killed. It claims the guard, Pierre Monsanto of Jersey City, was not properly trained and educated.
The lawsuit also alleges the defendants failed to warn Santiago that he was responding to a situation in which a violent man was armed with a loaded gun.
McBride’s attorney, John Molinari, did not respond to a call seeking comment on the lawsuit, nor did the attorney representing the Walgreens.
Neither S.E.B. Security nor the security guard could be reached for comment.
The lawsuit notes medical and funeral expenses incurred due to Santiago’s death, as well as McBride’s physiological distress and the loss of her sons’ support, guidance, advice and assistance for the rest of her life.
A trial date for the matter has been set for Sept. 11 before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Christine Vanek in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City. There is a hearing on a pretrial motion scheduled for Friday.
The suit also names Santiago’s estate as a plaintiff.
NJ.com
