Hawthorn Center unannounced active shooter drill left patients, staff traumatized, lawsuit says

Six employees and parents of two children at the Hawthorn Center in Northville Township are suing the state and top administrators at the psychiatric children's hospital after they said an unannounced active-shooter drill in December left them traumatized.

Hospital director Victoria Petti allegedly directed a front desk clerical worker to make an announcement over the PA system at 10 a.m. saying there were active intruders in the building and to sound genuinely afraid, according to the lawsuit. A second announcement followed, identifying the intruders as two men armed with AR-15s who had fired shots.

The announcements led children and employees into a panic, believing an active shooter was on the premises, according to the lawsuit. Adults barricaded themselves into places with no windows, stacked heavy furniture against the doors and armed themselves and the children with whatever they could find. Employees texted or called friends and family members, afraid they were going to die to tell them they loved them.

Some called 911, but dispatchers did not know it was a drill and scores of police arrived at the center with tacticalweapons and body armor. Seeing the large police presence only confirmed employees' fears that the situation was real.

Lynn Suftin, a representative for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the center, said the department understand that patients, staff and the community were affected by the drill.

"We commend our staff who worked quickly to engage law enforcement partners and the responding agencies who worked to resolve the situation," Suftin said in an email. "The Joint Commission requires the state psychiatric hospitals conduct a hazard vulnerability analysis at least every two years to identify potential emergencies, including active shooter drills.

"MDHHS is working with township law enforcement and the Michigan State Police on an improved active intruder training and drill process as part of updating its emergency operations policy."

In the past, employees were given information and advanced warning about active-shooter drills in order to prepare the children, many of whom are vulnerable and sensitive to traumatic stimuli, according to the lawsuit. The center also previously had told law enforcement and first responders about a drill so there'd be no confusion that it was a real emergency.

Children and staff stayed barricaded for nearly an hour, in fear for their lives, the lawsuit said. An announcement came over the PA at about 11 a.m. informing the center it was a drill.

Petti told staff in an email later that day how "deeply sorry I am that this occurred and for the stress it’s caused," according to the lawsuit.

Since December, patients have engaged in self harm, regressed in their physical and mental symptoms and have engaged in disruptive behavior because of the trauma from the drill, according to the lawsuit. Many of the adults working at Hawthorn also have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and said the state responded with "callous indifference" to their medical needs, according to the lawsuit.

Hawthorn Center denied worker's compensation coverage and medical leave for those at the center that day, the suit said.

An 11-year-old boy, the son of plaintiffs David Horein and Kortni Horein, was in the TV room with several other children and six employees, including plaintiff Jason Smith, according to the lawsuit. Smith began to barricade the door and told the children they would need to fight if the intruders came in. The boy was given soap and shampoo to throw at the intruders.

They barricaded the doors with mattresses and heavy chairs, and decided they would throw their coffee at the shooters and fight to take away their guns if they came into the room, according to the lawsuit. They armed the kids with combs, brushes and other items they could use to fight.

A 14-year-old girl, daughter of plaintiffs Mollie Bonter and Brent Bonter, was terrified and too afraid to cry, according to the lawsuit. She wanted to text her mother but could not manage to send the message. She is afraid of guns, the suit said, and seeing armed police outside had an immediate and long-term effect on her.

Both children began to act out more after the drill, becoming more physically aggressive with staff and other patients, according to the lawsuit.

Smith used most of his sick leave and paid time off and began working at a facility with a longer commute because he was afraid to go back to work, the lawsuit said. He was diagnosed with PTSD and said he will never be the same as a result of the drill.

"After the horrifying drill ended, Mr. Smith and his colleagues were expected to continue their work with the children as if nothing had happened," according to the lawsuit.

Some accounts of the plaintiffs:

--Naquana Jones locked the door to her office and hid under her desk. She texted her supervisor and called 911, but hung up when her supervisor told her it was a drill. She called back, however, once she heard the second announcement, again fearing it was real.

She resigned from her position as a result of the drill and has been paying out-of-pocket for therapy because she hasn't been able to find a therapist in her insurance network.

--Jennifer Vance was working with two children and four other colleagues when the drill started. They stacked chairs against the door to barricade themselves in and armed the kids with anything they could find to throw at intruders. Vance thought she was going to die and texted her loved ones.

Her patients were crying and scratching themselves because they didn't know how to cope with the fear; Vance said in the lawsuit that she tried to console them, even though she was still in shock. She did not have enough paid time off to recover and couldn't afford unpaid leave. She didn't file for worker's compensation because she believed it would have been denied, and she learned several weeks later others had done so and were denied. She continues to experience stress, anxiety, nightmares and emotional distress.

--Kai Mason, a clinical social worker, had just wrapped up a staff meeting and returned to her office when the first announcement came, according to the lawsuit. She barricaded herself in her office and hid under the table, but soon realized the blinds to the glass wall of her office weren't drawn and she was in clear view of the hallway. She was too scared to risk being seen if she lowered the blinds.

Mason had previously survived a workplace shooting that left a colleague dead, so the drill at Hawthorn "terrorized and retraumatized her," according to the lawsuit. She began getting severe headaches at work and her blood pressure spiked. She had to transfer to a new job to resolve the physical health issues.

--Annette Padula, a housekeeper, went into a room with other employees and children when she heard the announcement. An 11-year-old child clung to her, even though Padula was panicking herself. Her great-nephew had been injured in the Oxford High School shooting in November 2021, and her family was traumatized by it, according to the lawsuit.

She still works at Hawthorn, but now when she hears the PA system, she feels "like my heart stops."

The lawsuits were filed in the Michigan Court of Claims and Wayne County Circuit Court.

The Court of Claims lawsuit asks for a mental health compensation fund to be established, monetary damages, an order banning the state from conducting unannounced drills and an order directing MDHHS to review possible discipline or firing for several administrators.

The state lawsuit asks for an order banning retaliation, compensation from administrators and payment of attorney fees and litigation costs.

kberg@detroitnews.com