Sarasota News Leader

09/06/2013

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Sarasota News Leader September 6, 2013 THE CIVIL CASE Along with the criminal case, a civil lawsuit filed against the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office in December 2012 remains active. It seeks $15,000 in damages. In that case, Chen's husband, Wellington C. Chen, says Talman "was clearly intoxicated and had an open bottle of liquor in one hand and his car keys in his other hand" when deputies stopped him on Siesta Public Beach earlier on the day Donna Chen died. "At the time of the detention and/or questioning of [driver] Blake C. Talman [the deputies] instructed Mr. Talman that he must leave [the beach] or he would be arrested," the complaint continues. "By instructing Mr. Talman to leave while [he was] clearly intoxicated and with his car keys in his hand," it says, deputies "knew, or through the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that Mr. Talman would proceed to his car in the nearby parking lot and drive away from the beach." The complaint adds, "In fact, after being instructed to leave the beach or be arrested, Mr. Talman walked to the parking lot, got into his car and drove away from the beach traveling on Midnight Pass Road." Page 17 death determined Talman had a record of six felony and 23 misdemeanor charges, Wendy Rose, community affairs manager for the department, told this reporter at the time. The deputies who talked with Talman and his two companions at the beach had no knowledge of that information, she pointed out. Deputies had been alerted by a lifeguard that the trio of young men was bothering teenage girls at the beach, according to the report. Deputies did end up arresting Blakey on a charge of Disorderly Intoxication, because he was being rude, Rose said. However, because neither Talman nor Brewer displayed any rude behavior — and neither was observed breaking any laws — deputies had no grounds to arrest them, Rose pointed out. After a third encounter the deputies had with Talman and Brewer, Rose said, the deputies watched the two men walk toward the beach. Depositions have continued in the civil case over the past months, with more scheduled, according to Sarasota County Clerk of Court records. On Sept. 20, the Mallard Law Firm of Sarasota has scheduled a deposition with Warren LaBonte, co-owner of the concession at Siesta Public Beach. According to the Sheriff's Office report, LaBonte at one point on Jan. 7, 2012 informed deputies that Blakey had returned to the concession stand after the deputies had talked with the three men earlier. Deputies who encountered Talman, Brewer — who was 24 at the time — and a third man, Michael E. Blakey of North Port, then 26 — at the beach found no outstanding warrants for A case management hearing originally set for the men, the Sheriff's Office reported in Jan- July 17 in the civil case was moved to Dec. 18, uary 2012. Research undertaken after Chen's the Clerk of Court records show. % FOR ADVERTISING INFO Sales@SarasotaNewsLeader.com • (941) 227-1080

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