'It didn't have to come to this.' Family of slain corrections officer to file wrongful-death lawsuit
Jul. 20—The family of corrections officer Joseph Gomm, who was bludgeoned to death by an inmate at the Stillwater prison three years ago, is set to file a lawsuit against MINNCOR Industries, the Minnesota Department of Corrections division that operates the industry building where Gomm was killed.
The wrongful-death lawsuit was served last week on Lisa Wojcik, the CEO of MINNCOR Industries, and should soon be filed in Washington County District Court in Stillwater, an attorney for the Gomm family said Monday. The family is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, the cost of the suit and any other relief the court deems "just and equitable."
According to the complaint, DOC officials for more than 20 years have allowed MINNCOR "to control security at the prison such that production of product took priority above all matters, including employee security."
Gomm's death "was caused by a long-standing culture of disregard for the rights of (corrections officers) who ... were low priority compared to the high priority of making product and making profit along with other activities designed to earn a profit," the lawsuit states.
Gomm, 45, was killed by inmate Edward Muhammad Johnson on July 18, 2018. Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for murder, was working in the Stillwater prison's industry building when he used a prison-issued hammer and two improvised knives to kill Gomm.
Gomm was the only corrections officer in the area at the time, overseeing more than 100 inmates, according to the lawsuit. There were no video cameras.
Johnson, 44, pleaded guilty in October. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was being held Monday in FTC Oklahoma City, a federal transfer center in Oklahoma.
The lawsuit alleges that MINNCOR officers pushed DOC officials to limit the length of lockdowns at the prison because of concerns that production goals might not be met and contracts could be lost. "The message was clear with no deviation: Generate product to meet quotas and deadlines," the lawsuit states. "Contracts and financial profits were the number one priority."
The lawsuit also alleges that DOC officials knew Johnson was a threat to corrections officers. In 2004, Johnson lost his right eye after he he was stabbed by a fellow inmate on July 18 during a fight at the prison. Johnson claimed that the fight was due to negligence on the part of corrections officers and vowed revenge, according to the lawsuit. Johnson should have been transferred to the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights, a maximum-security prison, because of his "violent nature, continued threats of revenge, lack of security, access to dangerous tools and understaffing of industry," the lawsuit states.
DOC spokesman Nick Kimball said Monday that he could not comment on the pending litigation.
"We are reviewing the claims made," he said in a prepared statement. "We are focusing on reflecting on the third anniversary of Officer Gomm's death and remembering and honoring his service to our state."
In 2019, a bill was introduced in the Legislature that would appropriate $3 million to Gomm's family for compensation for his death. The measure, introduced again this year, did not gain momentum.
In addition to a $60,000 workers' compensation payment, Gomm's mother, Gloria Gomm, received $350,000 in federal line-of-duty death benefit payments and $166,000 in state line-of-duty death benefit payments, according to DOC officials.
DOC officials said in May that a direct appropriation to the Gomm family would "set a precedent that the Legislature has to consider closely."
Audrey Cone, Gomm's sister, said it is tragic that her family is still fighting for compensation for his death.
"This lawsuit is now our only option," she said, noting that wrongful-death cases involving negligence have a three-year statute of limitations. "The Legislature had the opportunity — and the time — to do what was right and, unfortunately, they didn't want to, and here we are."
Cone, who lives in St. Francis, said she was told inmates were making snowplows for the Minnesota Department of Transportation on the day her brother was killed. "That was the priority: snowplows," she said. "Snowplows were more important than my brother's safety."
After Gomm's death, Cone said the DOC installed security cameras in the industry building and required corrections officers to work in pairs at all times. "But safety is still a huge concern," she said. "Things haven't changed as much as we would like."
"I find it pretty ironic that when Joe was still here, he was a union steward trying to bring safety concerns to the administration," he said. "That didn't go anywhere. They didn't want to hear what he had to say. Now, even though he's gone, Joe is still fighting for their safety. The unfortunate thing is, it didn't have to come to this. It could have been taken care of. The unfortunate thing is, Joe lost his life, and nobody wants to take responsibility for that."
