MOTHER BLAMES DEPUTY FOR SON'S HEROIN DEATH

Lawsuit Claims Officer Should Have Called EMTs

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Deputy Gabriel Eckert stopped in a shopping center
parking lot and noticed a 21-year-old man apparently passed out in
the passenger seat of a Jeep, with mucus coming from his nose.

Eckert tapped on the window with his flashlight and got no response.
He spent about 15 seconds there, then sent a digital communication to
other deputies: "U SHOULD C THIS 1 ... HE IS CLOSER TO DEAD ... NICE,
JUST WHO U WANT DRIVING AROUND AT NITE."

Stephen M. Bongiorno was found dead of a heroin overdose in the Jeep
the next morning, and his mother has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit
against Eckert and Sarasota County for not doing more to help her son.

"It made me so sad because my son could have lived," said Susan
Deskins of Riverview.

The deputy, she said, "could have cared less. If that was his son in
that car, I think he would have done more."

During an internal investigation, Eckert said he should have pulled
on the door handle when he stopped at about 1 a.m. in the lot at 2881
Clark Road, Sheriff's Office records state. He also said he should
have been more assertive in determining Bongiorno's condition and
called an ambulance if needed.

A shopping center employee saw Bongiorno's body in the Jeep at about
6:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2006.

A cell phone was open on his lap, the vehicle doors were unlocked and
the key was in the ignition, a Sheriff's Office record states.

The Sheriff's Office cited Eckert for neglect of duty and suspended
him for a week.

The lawsuit contends that Eckert, hired in 2002, showed a willful
disregard for human rights and safety, and argues that Sarasota
County did not adequately train Eckert in how to respond to a
possible drug overdose.

"He's got to verify the person is free of harm," said Deskins'
attorney, Charles Gallagher of St. Petersburg. "He would have an
obligation to follow through and seek measures for further care."

The county also does not have a clear written policy for deputies on
providing medical care when an immediate need for it is noticed, the
lawsuit states.

"I don't want this to happen to someone else," Deskins said.

But Deskins said she also filed the lawsuit because the Sheriff's
Office was crass and compassionless, and did not give her any
information for months.

"It took them months and months to talk to us," Deskins said. "It was
like no big deal to them."

Deskins also said that detectives told her that the friend Bongiorno
was with that night was to blame and Bongiorno was probably already
dead when Eckert saw him.

"When I asked the time of death, they didn't want to tell," Deskins said.

"All I know is there's the window of time. It could be 10 p.m. to 4 a.m."

An autopsy report lists the cause of death as acute heroin
intoxication but does not list a time of death. Detectives told the
medical examiner's office that Bongiorno had a history of cocaine
possession and his apparent girlfriend has a history of heroin abuse,
records state.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato said the office had no
comment since the events were in litigation.