Family: 911 tapes harbor evidence

The family of an emergency medical technician shot to death while answering a call in Cape Vincent in January has asked a judge to order the release of the 911 emergency dispatch recordings of the call.

Marsha L. Dickinson, mother of Mark B. Davis, filed state Supreme Court action Monday at the Jefferson County clerk's office against the county and numerous other governmental agencies, requesting that a subpoena be issued ordering the release of the tapes.

According to court documents, the family believes the tapes may contain evidence that could aid it in bringing a wrongful-death lawsuit against any of the agencies involved in the call. The family believes the tapes are at risk of being purged from the 911 system and wants them preserved.

The county's position is that the tapes cannot be released until the criminal prosecution of Mr. Davis's alleged shooter, Christopher M. Burke, is resolved. At that point, the requested information would be released, according to the county's attorney, David J. Paulsen.

The prosecution of Burke was transferred to Lewis County Court after Jefferson County Judge Kim H. Martusewicz recused himself. Burke's defense attorney said in May that the Cape Vincent man likely would use mental illness as a defense.

Mrs. Dickinson, who is administrator of Mr. Davis's estate, as well as Mr. Davis's stepfather, Laurence Dickinson, and his siblings, Michael B. Dickinson and Maricia Dickinson, also want a judge to order the release of photos taken by state police during their investigation, as well as witnesses' statements.

"Those items, like the 911 tapes, are material and necessary for the proper identification of potentially culpable parties which may have contributed to Mark Davis's wrongful death," according to the family's petition.

Mr. Davis's family has filed a notice of claim against various state, county, town and village government agencies as a possible precursor to a $10 million wrongful-death lawsuit. The claim alleges that Mr. Davis was provided "misinformation" from several agencies while answering a supposed heart attack call at 114 S. Esselstyne St. on Jan. 30 and that the bad information led to his death.

According to court documents, "disclosure of the requested items will not only aid petitioners in bringing action, but will also preserve this information for trial." The family members, through their attorney, Timothy J. Perry, Syracuse, claim that 911 dispatch recordings are purged after 90 days and, while they "hope" the information would have been preserved upon the filing of a notice of claim, they want to make certain.

Mr. Perry, who could not be reached for additional comment, also requested in the petition that if any of the requested items are exempt from disclosure that a judge, in the alternative, allow him to review the material or have the judge review it in chambers to determine what can be disclosed.