[FL] In behalf of slain Anna Beach, Parker Police pay settlement on wrongful death lawsuit

...[Parker Police Officer Mark] Bomia reportedly had been physically abusive and had been stalking [Anna Marie] Beach prior to her murder... The Parker Police Department had been aware of Beach’s allegations of violence by Bomia but did not intercede, the lawsuit alleged. The family filed the civil suit in September [2010], alleging the city was neglectful in hiring and retaining Bomia... Parker Police Department and its leadership knew or should have known Officer Mark Bomia was emotionally unstable and unfit for his duties after Anna Beach came forward... The department took no action because an arrest for domestic battery would result in Bomia being required to relinquish his weapons... [Police Chief Charles] Sweatt told [Anna Beach's friend] that he would have to fire Bomia if he were to act upon her complaints...

PREVIOUS POSTS:

• [FL] Slain Anna Beach didn't want her ex, Officer Bomia, to lose his job - A Parker police officer charged with murder was on duty and in uniform when his ex-girlfriend was killed... The officer, Mark Allen Bomia, 43, of Southport, shot and strangled 35-year-old Anna Beach... Beach’s family members and neighbors, said Bomia had been stalking her for weeks...
• [FL] Chief Sweatt to Anna Beach while she was still alive: If you pursue this, Officer Bomia will lose his job - Parker Police Chief Charles Sweatt was told that officer Mark Bomia was being abusive to his girlfriend, Anna Beach, but when she called him about it he told her that if she pursued the matter Bomia would be fired...
• [FL] The police officer accused of killing ex-girlfriend ANNA BEACH wants his statements supressed - The attorney for the former police officer facing the death penalty for allegedly killing his former girlfriend has filed a motion to suppress his statements to police during the investigation and any evidence seized as a result of those statements.
• [FL] Parker Police Officer Bomia killed Anna Beach - Now will stay in prison until he dies - Parker Police officer Mark Bomia killed ex-girlfriend Anna Beach on Sept. 30, 2010, while on duty and in uniform... Bomia was convicted of first degree murder Thursday afternoon... Circuit Judge James Fensom immediately sentenced him to life in prison...

SLAIN WOMAN'S FAMILY TO GET $200,000 SETTLEMENT
The News Herald
Chris Olwell
November 11, 2011
[Excerpts] The family of a woman killed by her ex-boyfriend has settled a lawsuit against the police department where he worked. The family of Anna Beach, who was killed in her home by former Parker police officer Mark Bomia in September 2010, reached a $200,000 settlement against the city of Parker, said Zachary Taylor, a lawyer with Manuel and Thompson, the law firm representing the Beach family. The city also covered the funeral expenses, Taylor said. The settlement amount is the maximum allowed... The settlement and the verdict gave the family closure, he said. “This wasn’t about money for them,” Taylor said. “They just wanted some peace and to be done with it”... The Parker Police Department had been aware of  Beach’s allegations of violence by Bomia but did not intercede, the lawsuit alleged. The family filed the civil suit in September, alleging the city was neglectful in hiring and retaining Bomia, and that the excessive force Bomia used against Beach violated her civil rights. The settlement resolves all those claims, Taylor said... [Full article here]

ABOUT LAWSUIT, DECEMBER 2010

SLAIN WOMAN'S FAMILY PLANS SUIT: Survivors claim Parker officials knew officer had been violent
The News Herald
Chris Olwell
December 15, 2010
[Excerpts] ...The estate of Anna Beach alleges the Parker Police Department knew one of its officers, Mark Bomia, who is charged with the slaying, had been violent toward Beach and her son in the past and did nothing to protect them or the public at large, according to the notice sent Friday to Parker Mayor Brenda Hendricks and Police Chief Charles Sweatt. “Based on the information I have so far, it’s clear that they didn’t do what they were supposed to,” said Waylon Thompson, the attorney representing the family. “Our civil suit will be to hold the Parker Police Department responsible for this act”... In the aftermath of the crime, Sweatt said there were no “outward signs from this officer, prior to this incident, that something like this could possibly happen,” but the lawsuit alleges the Parker Police Department was aware or should have been aware of allegations Bomia had battered Beach and one of her sons on more than one occasion. A January incident in which Bomia entered Beach’s house and attacked Beach and her son was reported to the police department, the letter says. “Although a representative from the Parker Police Department came to the scene and spoke to witnesses, no report was made of the incident,” Thompson wrote to the city. Thompson’s letter alleges Sweatt went so far as to instruct his officers not to respond to complaints from Beach regarding Bomia... “Defendant’s conduct in hiring or retaining Bomia was so gross and flagrant as to show a reckless disregard of human life or of the safety of persons exposed to the effect of their conduct,” Thompson wrote. Beach’s four children and estranged husband suffered emotional and economic loss and will seek punitive damages, the letter says... [Full article here]

ABOUT LAWSUIT, SEPTEMBER 2011

FAMILY FILES SUIT IN WOMAN'S SLAYING
The News Herald
Chris Olwell
September 12, 2011
[Excerpts] The family of a slain Parker woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, the chief of police and the officer accused of killing her. The lawsuit alleges the Parker Police Department and its leadership knew or should have known Officer Mark Bomia was emotionally unstable and unfit for his duties after Anna Beach, Bomia’s ex-girlfriend, came forward to report that Bomia had been stalking and abusing her. According to court records, Parker police officers had responded on at least one occasion to domestic disturbances between the couple. The department took no action because an arrest for domestic battery would result in Bomia being required to relinquish his weapons; he couldn’t be a cop if he couldn’t carry a gun, according to the complaint. One of Beach’s friends told The News Herald and investigators with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office that she personally had alerted Parker Police Chief Charles Sweatt to the domestic violence and stalking, but Sweatt told her that he would have to fire Bomia if he were to act upon her complaints... The estate of Anna Beach seeks compensatory damages from the city of Parker, as well as Sweatt and Bomia for loss of the financial support Beach would have provided. In addition, the lawsuit seeks damages for funeral costs, attorney fees and mental pain and suffering for the loss of parental companionship. The suit, which was filed with the Bay County Clerk of Courts last week, also seeks punitive damages. [Full article here]
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