The family of a Wendover Police detective who committed suicide this July has retained a noted personal injury attorney Barbara Gallagher to represent them in a possible lawsuit against the city of West Wendover or perhaps the dead detective’s counselor.
Burnum took his own life on the Independence Day weekend. The suicide shocked the community and rocked the Police Department. Shortly later Burnum’s sister alleged that her brother had told his superiors of suicidal feelings shortly before his death.
“Our family is aware that calls were made within days before Donald’s death to WWPD. The chief as well as the city manager have been contacted about the situation and asked what steps were taken after the calls were made. The city has refused to speak with us any further on the matter,” wrote Burnum’s sister Lyssa Thompson in a prepared statement to the Advocate. “As a member of the community I feel that after such notification there is a duty to protect the officer involved, the police department and the community seeing as a officer carries a firearm and has been reported unstable. We would like to see a protocol put in place so that if faced with the situation, action would be taken to get the officer help, to take steps to assure safety and to possibly save a life.
Officers, detective, firefighter, ambulance medic etc. Respond to and experience things that others cant even imagine. As we go about living our lives they are experiencing things that most can not imagine. Murder, rape, molestation, suicide, illness and so much more. The effects this can have on that person can be life altering to say the least.
Donald loved serving his community, helping people, protecting people and seeking out justice for people. Serving for over 20 years on West Wendover police department i think he deserved the same.
Donald was a loving, caring, hard working, compassionate man who served our community with pride and he will deeply be missed by so many.”
According to investigators, the Advocate interviewed Burnum displayed no obvious signs of depression or emotional distress in the days leading up to his death. He left no note and no easy to find text message or e-mail to explain his actions.
According to both Thompson and to brother Kurt Burnum, Donald not only told fellow police officers that he was despondent but may have related that he was feeling suicidal.
“He told me he was feeling suicidal,” Kurt Burnum said in a telephone interview with the High Desert Advocate. “But when I called the police department all I could speak to was a secretary and no one called me back. When I called back the chief wouldn’t take my call.”
During the interview Kurt Burnum admitted that he was on mental illness medication and had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic.
Kurt Burnum also said that his brother was diagnosed with clinical depression and that his medication had been recently changed by his mental health care giver. Lyssa Thompson also confirmed that Donald Burnum was on medication for depression.
Both siblings agree that their brother’s medication had been recently changed within in a month of his suicide and both insist they have been stonewalled by the city administration.
“Other than being notified of his death nobody from the PD has contacted the family unless returning the calls about this situation,” Lyssa Thompson added in another email.
According to mental health experts contacted by the High Desert Advocate it is not all that rare that police, military or others in high stressed jobs to complain to their cohorts but not to their superiors.
“We do have a duty to detain someone whether a police officer or not if we believe that he or she poses a threat to himself or to others,” said West Wendover Police Lt. Donald Lininger. “But that bar is very high. This was a tragic situation I don’t know what could have been done to prevent it.”
According to the mental health professionals contacted by the Advocate, suicide is incredibly hard to prevent for a person determined to take his or her own life, even if successful in the short term, there is no guarantee that the attempts will not stop. Where Burnum’s family may have a case is not against the city or the police department but rather against the mental health provider who changed Burnum’s medication.
Gallagher has extensive experience in suing for both personal injury and product liability. In 2015 her firm was named one of the ten best for client satisfaction in Nevada.
Donald may’ve been intoxicated at the time of his death. Now, how that has any berring on whether or not the doctor or clinition who had supposedly, “Changed his medication?” should be coupable for what my brother did or did not do. If he was indeed drinking that night, I believe that could definitly be a major factor in settling this thing once and for all so we can all forget about this whole mess.Here’s a copy of The Elko County Sheriff’s Offices case report on this incident which should clarify a few things:
First of all, I would like to point out that, as stipulated in the final pages of lead officer Cory Talor and I quote from his police report on the case and case number: Deputy Report for Case 15EL01092
Supplement
ELKO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
OFFICER REPORT
OFFICER DECLARATION
I hereby cesti£y that 1 am a law enforcement officer, employed by the Elko County Sheriff’s Office, and that I am one of the officers investigating or aware of the facts described in the reports and statements attached hereto. I hereby affirm under pain and penalty of perjury that the facts set out in the reports and statements attached hereto are true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief except as otherwise noted therein.
Lead Officer; Taylor, Cory
Date of Declaration 07/04/201S
As given in an e-mail by myself to Howard Copeland shortly after recieving its release: It is obviously stated in the police report that Peacock was on the phone with Burnum as he commited his most unspeakable act:
I have no motive in reporting this, even in the face of my family’s lawsuite against whom ever they can find. Of which I would like to report I have no participation in and am discusted by as well as I am with this newspaper report. Of which, regardless of being reoprted to the advocate by myself emmideiately following its release to me that Peakock was not only in a relationship with my brother along with Catherine Petro were on the phone with my brother as he was begging for help of which he recieved none:
Deputy Supplemental Report Case 15EL01092 Page 3 of 4
Supplement
On July 6, 2015 1 retrieved the coroner ‘B report and associated unattended death report regarding this case on Donald Bur-num who was a West Wendover Police Department Detective Sergeant . {See attached reports) I would note that Burnum was prescribed numerous anti-depressants, pain medications, muscle relaxers, sedatives and high blood pressure medication. It was also insinuated during the course of this investigation that Burnum may have had an alcohol problem.
Upon reviewing the report I did note that Burnum was found just outside of the city limits of which he served. Bur-num appeared to have shot himself in the mouth with a Glock .45 ACP pistol.
On July 6, 201S I (Det. Sgt. N. S. Czegledi) took the cell phone found on the lap of the deceased and requested that Dee. Zack Hessing of the Elko Police Departmeht extract the data from within the phone. I advised Det. Hessing that the cell phone belonged to the deceased in this case and a search warrant was not because the expectation of privacy ceased at death.
On or about July 7, 2015 Det. Hessing called and advised that the cell phone was ready and he had moved the data to a coQact disk. I reviewed the text messages near the time reported time of death and observed that Burnum was having a conversation with a person by the name of Shannon (later identified as Shannon J. Baker who is a dispatcher for West Wendover Police Department) . The text conversation was clearly a goodbye from Burnum to Shannon. Burnum concludes the conversation with: Send the coroner; Goodbye Shannon forever; goodbye Panda.
On July 9, 2015 1 interviewed Shannon on the phone. Shannon stated she started dating Burnum about eight months ago but it didn’t work out because he was living with another female by the name of Cat Petro. Shannon stated that Burnum had told her that he did not have a relationship with Cat Petro and that she was only a rooümate but said she believed otherwise and called off the relationship and started dating someone else.
Shannon went onto to state that Burnum had previously quit drinking but started up about a week before his death.
Shannon said that on the date of Burnum r s death she had just left work and spoke to Bur-num on the phone for about ten minutes (confirmed according to call log) .
I asked Shannon if Burnum had a “nickname tt for her and she said yes, Panda. I would note that Bur-num’s last message to Shannon was, “goodbye panda a .
At this time there is no evidence of criminality in the death of Burnum and there is clear and convincing evidence to believe this is a suicide by self—inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
End of report.
Donald’s story should be told. It was my brother who died. Along with all the rest that are failed to be mentioned by this report that once belonged to West Wendover. So many suicides and the truth will come out. Regardless of my parents, my sister, Howard Copland, or the town of West Wendover.
And as reported I am not Schizophrenic but ShcizoAffective. There’s a difference.
Kurt Burnum
Deputy Supplemental Report for Case 15EL01092 Page 3 of 3
Supplement
Approximately a week after Burnum’s death I spoke with a Rebecca Peacock who stated that Donald Burnum was still investigating Malarie Morgan’s death (CIS-0007) that occurred earlier in the year. Ms. Peacock also insinuated that there may be a connection between Morgan’s death and Burnum’s death; however, Peacock did not have any evidence to substantiate that claim. Ms. Peacock did state that she had been recently interviewed by Burnum several times just prior to his death.
I told Ms. Peacock that the coroner’s investigation of Ms. Morgan had been closed and ruled an accidental death via multiple drug toxicity and that to the best of my knowledge the West Wendover Police Department had closed their case .
I advised Ms . Peacock that any criminal investigation regarding Morgan would have to be conducted by the West Wendover Police Department .
Based upon speaking with Ms. Peacock I surmised that Burnum was just listening to what Ms. Peacock had to say regarding the death of Malarie; however, I don’t suspect there was much Burnum could do with the case given what Ms. Peacock was stating.
On 07/22/2015 1 spoke with Lt. Donald Lininger of the West Wendover Police Department . I asked him if Malarie Morgan’s case was still open and Lt. Lininger stated the case was closed. Lt. Lininger seemed to be of the same opinion as me that Burnum was just listening to what Ms. Peacock had to say.
I would note that during the investigation of Burnum’s death that no alerting circumstances regarding any ties to Morgan’s death were found other than what was alluded to by Ms. Peacock.
Case closed.