Special prosecutor to review ruling in Summit jail death

May 15, 2008
By Ed Meyer, Beacon Journal staff writer

Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman was appointed today to investigate a possible appeal of a recent judge's ruling that changed the autopsy findings in the 2006 death of an inmate at the Summit County Jail.

On May 2, visiting Summit County Judge Ted Schneiderman ordered a change in the manner of death in the autopsy report on inmate Mark D. McCullaugh Jr., 28, from "homicide" to "undetermined."

Schneiderman's ruling followed a four-day trial over a civil lawsuit filed against the county medical examiner, Dr. Lisa J. Kohler, by Taser International Inc. and the city of Akron.

That suit challenged Kohler's findings that the use of a Taser stun gun was a contributing factor in the death of McCullaugh and two other unrelated deaths involving confrontations with Summit County law enforcement officers.

Five Summit sheriff's deputies are facing criminal trials in the McCullaugh case, and last week their lawyers filed a motion to dismiss all charges, directly citing Schneiderman's decision in their arguments to visiting Judge Herman F. Inderlied Jr.

A decision by Inderlied -- a retired judge from Geauga County who was appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to handle the McCullaugh case -- is pending.

Deputy Stephen Krendick, 34, is facing the most serious charge, a single count of murder, in McCullaugh's death.

Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh asked for the appointment of Holman as special prosecutor, saying in court papers that it was being done to "avoid the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest."

Walsh argued that the conflict stems from Schneiderman's decision, "which goes well beyond the narrow scope" of Taser's civil suit.

The only issue in that trial, Walsh said, was whether the Taser contributed in any way to cause the three deaths.

But the broad scope of Schneiderman's ruling "orders removal of a variety of other findings, and thus ...any appeal would necessarily implicate the conduct of the involved law enforcement officers," Walsh wrote in her motion.

A spokeswoman for Walsh did not return messages seeking further comment on the possible appeal of Schneiderman's ruling.

Schneiderman, who retired from the Common Pleas bench in 2003, handles various civil and criminal cases as a visiting judge.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, the court's administrative judge, approved Walsh's request for the special prosecutor and named Holman to handle the investigation.

Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman was appointed today to investigate a possible appeal of a recent judge's ruling that changed the autopsy findings in the 2006 death of an inmate at the Summit County Jail.