Teen accused of stabbing SM girl died while police questioned her
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office is pressuring parents of a 17-year-old girl who died of a drug overdose while in police custody to drop their case against the LAPD or face hefty lawyer fees if they lose.
LA Deputy City Attorney Geoffrey Plow-den said his office has asked Angelique Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian, the parents of Katrina Sarkissian, who fatally stabbed Santa Monica High School sophomore Deanna Maran in 2001, to reconsider their wrongful death suit against the LAPD. He gave them until Friday to drop it.
Their daughter, Katrina Sark-issian, was being questioned by police on Nov. 18, 2001 when she passed out at the West Los Angeles Police Station. Police took Sarkissian and her 15-year-old half-sister into custody for their role in the fatal stabbing of Maran, 15, the night before at an unsupervised teenage party in Westwood. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office ruled that Sarkissian had overdosed on antidepressant capsules before she left her Brentwood home with detectives. The autopsy revealed that Sarkissian had taken 43 capsules of Nortriptyline, a prescription antidepres-sant — twice the average fatal dose.
Gary Cassleman, the attorney representing Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian, said it’s unlikely his clients will drop the suit, saying he has strong evidence from expert witnesses that police should have known something was wrong with the teenager when her speech began to slur.
The suit alleges that Sarkissian would have survived had the two detectives, Jim Hays and Kirby Carranza, immediately summoned paramedics when they were questioning her.
Cassleman said the detectives should have observed odd behavior from the teenager as the drugs kicked in, especially since Bernstein told police that her daughter was prescribed the pills.
Cassleman added that he has a doctor familiar with Nortriptyline who will testify that symptoms of an overdose show up quickly when a lot is ingested.
“We think there would (be) radical changes within the first 20 minutes,” he said. “They had the information they needed but they were out to lunch.”
Katrina Sarkissian and her half sister were picked up by police at 1:55 p.m. Paramedics were called 45 minutes later when she collapsed. Katrina Sarkissian allegedly told detectives that she felt sleepy during the interview. She was pronounced dead at 5:32 p.m.
Plowden said police possess certain immunities when responding to life and death situations, particularly due to the threat of lawsuits. Without such protection, paramedics and police would be hesitant to try and save anyone’s life for fear of being sued, Plowden added.
“There is ample evidence that the officers and paramedics did what they could,” he said. “They had no idea that the deceased overdosed on Nortriptyline that caused her demise.”
Plowden added that Cassleman must prove that police and emergency workers acted with “deliberate indifference” or “reckless negligence” when they responded to Katrina Sarkissian’s seizure.
“They will obtain no evidence that would prove that something else could have been done,” he said, adding he has an expert who will say the lawsuit has no merit.
A key piece of evidence will likely show the condition of Katrina Sarkissian — the audio tape during the police interrogation. Cassleman claims she was slur-ring her speech and talking slowly.
“She goes into this strange sound and loses it and then she went unconscious,” he said.
Plowden maintains she was acting normally.
“The jurors would evaluate that and see nothing could be done,” Plowden said. “It’s insane to have them sued and accused of wrongdoing when they were trying to save her life.”
“The jurors would evaluate that and see nothing could be done. It’s insane to have (the police) sued and accused of wrongdoing when they were trying to save her life.” — — GEOFFREY PLOWDEN LA Deputy City Attorney
Cassleman said he is still reviewing evidence and testimony from his expert witnesses, as well as Plowden’s, to determine if the case should continue. But he’s fairly confident his clients have a strong possibility of winning.
“If you were going to bet, this case will be here after Friday,” he said. “If we don’t dismiss the case the worst that can happen is that the case will go forward.”
If Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian don’t drop the suit, Plowden said he will ask the court to throw it out of court in early 2004 and seek tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees.
“Hopefully they will do the right thing,” he said.
Sarkissian’s half sister, whose name is being withheld because she is a minor, was charged with one count of battery, a misdemeanor, for her alleged role in Maran’s murder. Police believe it was her scuffle with Maran that triggered the stabbing at the party. The 15-year-old received 100 hours of community service and was ordered to pay $100 in restitution for the battery charge, sources said.
After the scuffle, the girl allegedly kicked Maran while Sarkissian allegedly stabbed her in front of the home where a 19-year-old hosted the party. According to eyewitnesses, dozens of people watched while the girls fought and older college students prevented anyone from rescuing Maran during the fight.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 23, 2003. Read the original PDF.