Egan's Story
The video that follows is Timothy Egan relaying a story about the context of his exchange with Maureen that does not align with the video. Almost from the onset the Sparks Police Officers fall right into lockstep in Egan's tale and several members of the Sparks Fire Department continue to lead them through the entire exchange - even though the assault video shows something different.
Above: Police Responding to Egan at the fire station before responding to the injured 84-year-old
Above: Egan walks the officers through his version of the exchange with Maureen. He says, "AS SOON AS I WALKED IN EVERYONE WAS WATCHING THE VIDEO." It's was as if the firemen of Sparks Station No. 1 were expecting an altercation so they had their popcorn ready and we're enjoying the show before Egan came in to tell them about it.
Above: Postma: "Do you want to press charges?" Egan: "Wondering if it will improve things...it's a chronic problem (feeding cats in a public alley?)
Above: One of repeated inquires and comments stating that the victim is mentally ill.
The Gang's All Here
The following series of Body Cam vignettes show a Good Ole Boy mentality as you watch the exchanges between Sparks Fire and Sparks Police. You can see as they begin to develop the plan to go after the victim even before interviewing her. To ensure transparency, this is the justification for having a different police agency respond.
Above: The Firemen of Sparks Fire Station No. 1 enjoy a few laughs at Maureen's expense.
Above: Battalion Chief Derek Keller tells officers when former Fire Chief Maples was here they were told to leave Maureen alone.
Above: Officer Postma is pretty sure he knows the answer to the question, but why did you push her to the ground?
FALSUS IN UNO, FALSUS IN OMNIBUS
Timothy Egan's account of the assault was provided to the Sparks Police when he pressed charges against Maureen. His written account below does not coincide with his actions in the assault video.
Above: Tim Egan's Sparks Police Statement
Above: Postma tells BC Keller we'll go talk to Maureen but with you being a protected person it makes it a gross misdemeanor. They already know what they are going to do based on the lies of the station.
We are faced with many questions:
Why did the Sparks Police Department respond to an assault involving a Sparks Fire Department paramedic, and not dispatch another nearby policing agency?
Why did the police respond to the fire department before responding to a 911 call regarding an injured 84-year-old woman? The victim's son had to call Sparks Police Dispatch a second time, 45 minutes after the original 911 call was placed by her daughter-in-law because they had not responded for Maureen (Listen to audio below). He eventually walked across the alley to the fire station after he discovered that they were actually on-site over there, and asked the officers if they intended to tend to the victim.
Why did Battalion Chief Keller of Fire Station No. 1, tell his men when a call for medical for Maureen came in that Sparks Fire was not responding? Egan said in an affidavit he was going to call for help for her.
A Dereliction of Duty
Above: Body Cam Footage of Egan telling Police his Battalion Chief, Derek Keller said Sparks Fire was not responding to Maureen's call for medical assistance.
Above: After exiting the Fire Station Officers Smith and Postma appear to look for how to make Egan the victim and charge Maureen, but they clearly struggle because based upon Egan's story they determine he was not working in his official duty
THE MANIPULATION OF MAUREEN AND HER FAMILY
Above: Officer Postma ask Maureen, who is surrounded by family, to tell him what happened
Above: Responding Police Officers Postma and Smith couldn't agree on how to proceed - they appeared a conundrum as to what exactly should be done. So they called their Sergeant who in turn called the Sparks City Attorney for guidance on how to handle the situation, taking extraordinary steps for an extraordinary situation. This process of waiting for direction from above took a long time. Making one wonder what the context of those discussions between Sparks PD and Sparks City Attorney.
Both Police Officers Smith and Postma attempt to manipulate Maureen's family to convince them that she assaulted Egan by manipulating facts of the video and what Egan and the Sparks Fire Station No. 1 Fire House told them during their interview. The following video clips demonstrate this.
Above: In this body cam footage, Officer Postma inquires if Maureen has a mental health problem. There is no video footage of either officers asking Timothy Egan if he has a mental health problem or if he was on drugs for his purported leg injury. Here Postma tells Maureen's son Marc that his mother attacked Egan in an unprovoked attack and there is video to prove it. Marc then views the video captured from the Sparks Fire Station No. 1 CCTV. As Marc is viewing this video, simultaneously Officer Smith is manipulating and lying to Marc's wife and son.
Above: Officer Smith lies to the family about the video
Above: Maureen breaks down
Above: Smith continues his manipulation completely disregarding that Egan harassed Maureen, looking for a confrontation, and lied to them about it
Above: Officer Smith implying Maureen is going to jail
Above: Officer Smith failing at trying to convince Marc they are impartial.
Above: Officer Postma relaying Timothy Egan's story in its entirety to his sergeant.
Above: Officer Postma asking his sergeant if he watched the video, say yeah she's old and decrepit.
Above: Night has fallen and Officer Postma finally receives the instruction from his Sergeant and the Sparks City Attorney to issue Maureen with a citation for battery on a protected person
It is unknown why exactly the Sergeant and Sparks City Attorney instructed responding Officer Postma to cite Maureen for Assault on a Protected Person. In what appears to be manipulation of an old woman. Postma told her that he'd never seen this type of citation be issued without the person being arrested, but neither the sergeant nor Sparks City Attorney felt they needed to do that to her. As if he was implying they were doing her a favor.
Above: Postma delivers the bad news to victims son, Marc following Sparks PD and Sparks City Attorney colluding
Above: Sparks PD Officers and City Attorney Wes Duncan cite the 84-year-old victim - You can't make this stuff up - Maureen can finally go to the Emergency Room to be examined
Maureen sat in pain for hours while this charade played out. It was only after the police issued the citation long after darkness had fallen that her son could take her to the hospital to be examined where it was determined she suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury. It should be noted that Sparks Fire refused Maureen a medical response. However, REMSA (the local ambulance service) finally did show up nearly an hour after the assault occurred.
Later when Maureen's children began making asking questions and made it known to the City of Sparks their mother was not homeless and they were aware that a video of the assault existed, the citation issued against her was promptly withdrawn by the Sparks Police Chief, Chris Crawforth.
Maureen's children demanded an investigation by another agency into the events including the actions of the City of Sparks and Egan. What was referred to Washoe County Sheriff's Department was a request to investigate only Tim Egan. Maureen and two of her children met with them for an interview in February. Beginning in April, the Washoe County Sheriffs Office went silent and stopped returning emails and phones calls to the family. In early May a local news station reported that the Washoe County Sheriff's Department had finalized the investigation, returned the file to the Sparks Police Department, and no charges were being filed against Tim Egan. The family finally received the formal report after reaching out to the Sparks Police Chief Crawforth.
View the legal complaint Hvegholm vs Egan below.
Tim Egan has been personally sued because it is difficult to believe what Egan did to Maureen was in the line of duty. However, at a Sparks City Council meeting on April 24, the City Council voted to pay for Tim Egan's legal representation from taxpayers' money. Several of Maureen's children attended this meeting to voice opposition to the City of Sparks putting the burden of Egan's defense on the taxpayers. How can the Sparks City Council think harassing and then leg-sweeping an old lady face-first into the concrete is “within the scope and course of his job duties of a Sparks Fireman Paramedic”? Even Officers Postma and Smith agreed on body cam footage he was not working in his duty when the assault occurred. Yet the Sparks City Attorney's office said he was and this was their rationale in deciding to pay his legal representation at the taxpayer's expense, leaving Maureen to navigate this on her own. Their decision to do so launched this story locally, nationally, and internationally.
Below: Fast forward the video below to the 1:41:06 time mark to view the Public Hearing where Maureen's children oppose a motion for Sparks City Council to retain legal counsel for Timothy Egan at Taxpayer expense