Lawsuit Filed Against Genoa & Oregon Police Officers & St. Charles Hospital – Excessive Force & Medical Negligence Resulted In Permanent Brain Damage To Mark Silva
The law firms of FG+G and Charles Boyk Law have filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Mark Silva, who permanently lost
consciousness after Genoa and Oregon (Ohio) police officers restrained him face down on the ground. Silva was then denied timely medical care by the officers and staff at Mercy Health’s St. Charles Hospital. He remains unresponsive today.
On October 15, 2023, Genoa Police Officer Donald Kreager and a Clay Township officer stopped Mark for a traffic violation. At that time, Mark was experiencing a mental health episode and was in an altered mental state. Mark’s mental health history was known by local police, and the officers who conducted the stop were notified that he was experiencing delusions and were told by Mr. Silva himself that he needed medication. EMTs transported Silva to St. Charles Hospital in Oregon, Ohio for evaluation. Upon his discharge from the hospital, Officer Kreager escorted Mr. Silva toward his police cruiser.
Mark Silva was still confused and unable to respond rationally, but he was handcuffed and posed no threat. When Silva began to wander away, still in a confused state, Kreager commanded him to stop. Mark Silva, due to his mental state, was unable to fully comply. Kreager responded by deploying his Taser twice, causing Mr. Silva to fall to the ground. Kreager then yanked Mark Silva onto his feet and
pulled him toward the hospital’s entrance. When Mark Silva stopped walking again, Kreager forcefully took him down to the ground and restrained him on the sidewalk. Oregon Officers Sandwisch, Gable, and Webb, and Sergeant Martin arrived and joined Kreager in restraining Mark on the ground.
Together, the officers held Mark Silva face down, pressed down on his head, neck and chest, and placed their body weight on his chest and neck area, and Kreager pulled Silva’s shirt collar tight around his neck. Mark Silva eventually went silent and became motionless. When the officers finally rolled him onto his side, his eyes were partially open and his lips were blue. The officers did not perform chest compressions or CPR.
St. Charles Hospital personnel were notified of the emergency and several hospital employees responded to the area where Mark Silva lay on the ground and/or joined as he was wheeled into the hospital. But the hospital staff acted without urgency: no one began chest compressions or CPR until Mr. Silva had been situated in a hospital room.
Mark Silva suffered extended cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, and profound brain damage as a result of the officers’ excessive force and the failures of the officers and hospital staff to provide timely medical intervention. Mr. Silva sustained permanent injuries that left him in an unresponsive state, requiring 24-hour care.
Mark A. Silva, Jr., the son and guardian of Mark Silva, states, “This tragic incident that happened to my father has devastated me and my family very deeply. What they did to him was inhumane and just wrong. He has been fighting for his life ever since. Life for him, and us have not been the same and never will be. We pray that justice will be served.”
Jacqueline Greene, partner at FG+G and one of the attorneys for Mr. Silva, states, “The restraint techniques used by these officers were brutal and shocking, and effectively ended Mark Silva’s life. A man in a mental health crisis does not deserve, nor does the law allow this kind of abuse and suffering. Trained police and personnel should not stand by without providing first aid while an unresponsive person in respiratory or cardiac arrest is right in front of them. These police officers and medical personnel failed Mark Silva and caused tragic and life-changing injuries. They must be held accountable.”
Charles E. Boyk, of Charles Boyk Law, also an attorney for Mr. Silva, says, “Our client and his family have suffered indescribable harm as a result of the actions of the police and the hospital. We look forward to the opportunity to hold the wrongdoers responsible and deter them from this type of conduct in the future.”
Charles Boyk Law is partnering with Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein (FG+G) on this disturbing case. FG+G is a civil rights and criminal defense firm dedicated to the protection of human rights, across Ohio, and around the country for more than 45 years. This case is pending before Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Eric Allen Marks.
