A circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the mother of a mentally ill woman who was shot to death by a Polk County sheriff’s deputy after she charged him while wielding a shovel in 2021.
Her attorney, Life Malcolm, said the wrongful death civil case might be over, but he is preparing next steps toward seeking justice for the daughter, Jessiram Hweih Rivera, 24.
Malcolm, of Tampa, would not elaborate on what his next move might be, but when asked if the matter was over, he said no.
“I can tell you that it’s not the end of it,” he said by phone on Wednesday.
He added that he thought the judge had made the correct decision and his client came to him under a tight deadline to file the case, which created challenges.
The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 11, 2023, by Malcolm on behalf of the estate of Rivera and her mother, Jessica Hweih, who is also the personal representative of the estate and grandmother to her two children. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Sgt. Sean Speakman were defendants.
On Nov. 11 2021, Speakman fatally shot Rivera after the woman came toward him with a shovel held above her head.
Judd and Speakman had filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit before an October hearing. Circuit Judge Reinaldo Ojeda issued an order dismissing the lawsuit on Nov. 13. He gave four reasons.
“As to Defendants Sean Speakman and Grady Judd, the Complaint in paragraph 10 alleges joint and several liability,” the judge wrote. “Florida Statutes does not allow for the entry of a judgement for wrongful death on the basis of joint and several liability.”
Regarding Speakman, Ojeda said, Florida Statutes “does not allow for an officer to be held personally liable unless it is alleged and shown that the officer acted in bad faith, with malicious purport, or in a manner exhibiting wonton and willful disregard for human rights, safety or property.
“The Court finds the Complaint is devoid of any such allegations,” the judge’s order said.
He found a third issue with the case because the paperwork took too long to send to Judd and Speakman after the case was originally filed, and no extension of time or good reasons for the delay were provided.
And lastly, after the court reviewed the plaintiff’s complaint in the wrongful death action, the plaintiff did not “present their claim in writing to the Florida Department of Financial Services within two years after the claim accrued.”
The lawsuit had been filed with the 10th Judicial Circuit Court and sought monetary and punitive damages of more than $100,000 for alleged negligence on the part of the defendants. The filing also had demanded a jury trial.
How the shooting took place
As previously reported by The Ledger, Speakman fired four shots at Rivera from his agency issued firearm as she walked toward him wielding a shovel.
That day, Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies had responded to a call of a woman, later identified as Rivera, walking in and out of traffic on Rifle Range Road at 3:17 p.m. The first arriving deputy couldn’t find the woman and left the scene.
At 3:41 p.m., the PCSO received another call, and Speakman arrived within a minute. He found Rivera walking along a long dirt road near Rifle Range Road and Noles Lane with a shovel in her hand.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Speakman, who was highly trained in crisis intervention, attempted to talk to Rivera, but she raised the shovel and slammed it into a nearby stack of wood. She then raised it over her head again and began approaching Speakman.
According to Judd, two witnesses said they saw Rivera approaching Speakman with the shovel over her head, and that Speakman ordered her to drop it as he drew his weapon and backed away. As she got within striking distance, Speakman fired.
The Sheriff’s Office does not provide body cameras for its deputies, nor does it use in-dash cameras.
The Sheriff’s Office said Speakman did not know Rivera’s identity at the time of the confrontation, nor was he aware of her record of mental illness and drug use.
‘Why four times?’
In an interview with The Ledger in the days after the shooting, Rivera’s mother expressed frustration at Speakman and the Sheriff’s Office and called it an excessive use of force against her daughter.
“OK, maybe you got, you got intimidated, maybe you thought your life is at risk,” Hweih said. “You should shoot her only once, she going down, that’s it. Why four times?”
In the wrongful death lawsuit, it said, “At some point, instead of returning to his vehicle, or otherwise retreating to safety, Speakman, in alleged fear for his life, drew his agency issued duty handgun, and shot Jessiram, four times, killing her.”
“The force that Speakman used to stop Jessiram did not match the force Jessiram displayed,” it said.
Rivera’s mother and two minor children had been named as beneficiaries in the lawsuit. The lawsuit had sought damages for pain and suffering, support for Rivera’s mother and children, burial expenses and Rivera’s loss of potential income, among other potential damages.
The wrongful death claim against Judd also says: “Defendant Judd and his agent, Sean Speakman, shot and killed Jessiram, because Judd promotes his law enforcement officers killing people as funny and cool.
“Instead of helping Jessiram, by deescalating the situation, or disengaging from the encounter, altogether, Speakman, following Judd’s written or unwritten policies, shot and killed Jessiram.”
Malcolm also wrote, “Defendant Judd’s actions were not initiated for the protection of the general public. Jessiram was not a public safety concern, nor could she reasonably be said to be a risk to others, when Speakman shot her and killed her.”
Speakman was a sergeant in the Southeast District patrol at the time of the shooting and remains a sergeant.
On Wednesday by phone, Scott Wilder, PCSO communications director, declined to comment on the wrongful death lawsuit.
Wilder previously told the media, “(Speakman) He did not have to get any additional training, etc. He was placed on paid administrative leave for a few days pending a ‘fitness for duty’ evaluation by a psychiatrist. After that evaluation, he was cleared to return to work.
“There was no disciplinary action — there were no violations of general orders or law,” he added.