Florida Senate - 2019                              (NP)    SB 22
       
       
        
       By Senator Rouson
       
       
       
       
       
       19-00047-19                                             201922__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act for the relief of Dylan Tompkins-Holmes by the
    3         Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office; providing for an
    4         appropriation to compensate him for personal injuries
    5         and damages sustained as a result of the negligence of
    6         the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office; providing a
    7         limitation on the payment of attorney fees; providing
    8         an effective date.
    9  
   10         WHEREAS, at approximately 3 a.m. on December 30, 2015,
   11  Dylan Tompkins-Holmes, then 26 years of age, was riding as a
   12  passenger in a 2013 Honda Civic driven by his girlfriend when
   13  two Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies pulled over the
   14  vehicle for a welfare check, and
   15         WHEREAS, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Timothy
   16  Virden arrived on the scene as backup for the deputies who
   17  initiated the welfare check and approached the passenger side of
   18  the car, where Mr. Tompkins-Holmes was seated, and
   19         WHEREAS, during the course of the welfare check, Deputy
   20  Virden made the decision to arrest Mr. Tompkins-Holmes for
   21  obstruction of justice, and
   22         WHEREAS, during the course of the arrest, Deputy Virden
   23  twice searched Mr. Tompkins-Holmes, finding no weapons or
   24  contraband, and then handcuffed Mr. Tompkins-Holmes with his
   25  hands behind his back and escorted him to his patrol vehicle,
   26  and
   27         WHEREAS, after Deputy Virden placed Mr. Tompkins-Holmes in
   28  the back seat of his patrol vehicle, he twice shot Mr. Tompkins
   29  Holmes, whose hands were still securely handcuffed behind his
   30  back, and
   31         WHEREAS, although the shooting was not captured on any
   32  videotaping device, Deputy Virden acknowledges that he fired his
   33  service weapon, striking Mr. Tompkins-Holmes, and
   34         WHEREAS, as a result of the shooting, Mr. Tompkins-Holmes
   35  was hospitalized for an extended period of time and required
   36  three surgeries to his upper torso and left arm, and
   37         WHEREAS, Mr. Tompkins-Holmes suffered scarring and
   38  disfigurement from the bullet and surgical wounds, has been
   39  diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder,
   40  and, for an extended period of time, was unable to work, and
   41         WHEREAS, to date, the medical costs associated with Mr.
   42  Tompkins-Holmes’ injuries total approximately $171,000, and
   43         WHEREAS, Deputy Virden stipulates that, at the time of the
   44  shooting, he was working within the course and scope of his
   45  employment with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and
   46         WHEREAS, Mr. Tompkins-Holmes filed suit against Robert
   47  Gualtieri in his capacity as Sheriff of Pinellas County and the
   48  parties reached a settlement agreement, as a result of which Mr.
   49  Tompkins-Holmes received $200,000 pursuant to the sovereign
   50  immunity limits of liability set forth in s. 768.28, Florida
   51  Statutes, and
   52         WHEREAS, Mr. Tompkins-Holmes also filed suit against Deputy
   53  Virden individually, and the parties agreed that $750,000 is a
   54  fair and reasonable measure of Mr. Tompkins-Holmes’ damages
   55  based on the totality of his past and future economic and
   56  noneconomic damages, and
   57         WHEREAS, Deputy Virden entered into a stipulated motion for
   58  entry of a final judgment against him related to any present or
   59  future claims made by Mr. Tompkins-Holmes in connection with the
   60  shooting, NOW, THEREFORE,
   61  
   62  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   63  
   64         Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
   65  found and declared to be true.
   66         Section 2. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is
   67  authorized and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise
   68  encumbered and to draw a warrant in the sum of $750,000 payable
   69  to Dylan Tompkins-Holmes as compensation for personal injuries
   70  and damages sustained.
   71         Section 3. The amount paid by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s
   72  Office pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount
   73  awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
   74  compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
   75  the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
   76  personal injuries and damages to Dylan Tompkins-Holmes, and the
   77  Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Timothy Virden are
   78  hereby released from any further liability. The total amount
   79  paid for attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25
   80  percent of the total amount awarded under this act.
   81         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.