$13M settlement proposed after unannounced active intruder drill at former youth psychiatric hospital

Employees and parents of children at a former youth psychiatric hospital who sued after an unannounced active intruder drill before Christmas 2022 have reached a proposed settlement agreement with the Michigan health department for $13 million.

Nearly $2.9 million would be allocated for the youth patients and nearly $5.8 million for the employees who were at the Hawthorn Center in Wayne County during the unannounced drill on Dec. 21, 2022, according to the proposed settlement agreement filed Wednesday in the Michigan Court of Claims.

Robin Wagner, a lead attorney for the employees and parents, said that means each of the 50 children who were patients at the time of the unannounced drill would receive more than $57,000 in a special trust to help with needs, such as transportation, housing and medical expenses.

What workers get — and how they can get more

She said the former center's 110 employees — minus those in charge — would receive at least $5,000 each and possibly more if they don't opt out of what is being proposed as a class-action settlement.

The employees could receive additional compensation if they undergo a forensic psychological assessment to determine how the incident affected them. A team from Boston College would evaluate the assessments. Each employee who undergoes the assessment would receive a score and a neutral Michigan attorney would inform disbursements based on the psychological impact of the incident on each person, Wagner said.

She said two employees, Brandon Woodruff and Hawk Kennedy, who were tapped to role-play the supposedly armed intruders and were detained by police who responded in tactical gear and with long guns after 911 calls, would receive three times their score amount in award payments.

The unannounced drill took place at the former Northville Township center, which the state health department owned and operated.

Lawsuits recounted the panic in the building, with employees gathering children and barricading them into spaces with no windows. Frantic adults stacked heavy furniture against the doors and armed themselves with items such as hot coffee, brushes and combs.

'A meaningful amount of money'

Some called 911, talking in hushed tones, while others texted their loved ones with what they thought might be their final messages.

Wagner said the proposed settlement agreement comes after the parties had several months of discussion and multiple sessions with a mediator. She said it was reached without having to go through extensive litigation.

"It's a meaningful amount of compensation. It represents, I think, to the credit of the state, an acknowledgement, though they don't admit to wrongdoing. I think an acknowledgment that their patients and employees were deeply harmed and to serve meaningful compensation."

"It's a meaningful, life-changing amount of money for a lot of people. And even if you're one of the few people who it just wasn't that big a deal for, or you don't feel like going through the forensic evaluation process ... there's a meaningful amount of money, of compensation for having been there that day and having gone through, been exposed to it."

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that it takes the "health and safety of our staff and patients very seriously, and felt it was in the best interest of all involved parties to settle this matter."

"We regret that our patients, staff and community were negatively affected by the unfortunate incident in December 2022. We commend our staff who worked quickly to engage law enforcement partners and the responding agencies who worked to resolve the situation," the statement said.

"Following the incident, MDHHS offered Critical Incident Stress Management to Hawthorn staff, which included information about Employee Assistance Program resources that could provide behavioral health services to those affected by the event. The Joint Commission (which accredits hospitals) requires the state psychiatric hospitals conduct a hazard vulnerability analysis at least every two years to identify potential emergencies, including active shooter exercises. MDHHS is working on improved training and exercise processes as part of updating its emergency operations policies."

No criminal violations, no work rules violated

In September, the Michigan Attorney General's Office found no criminal violations after a review of the drill.

A separate, internal review last year indicated no policies or work rules were violated when the facility held the drill. A State Hospital Administration investigator who reviewed the drill found it was conducted hastily — just a day after the decision was made to have it — with poor communication and inadequate staffing for the circumstances.

The investigator's March 2023 memorandum was to Hawthorn Center Director Victoria Petti, and was among hundreds of emails and documents obtained by the Free Press through a Freedom of Information Act request with the state health department.

"Based on the above findings, there is not enough evidence to indicate any work rule or other policy violations on the part of any Hawthorn Center staff members. The hospital emergency operations manual and the safety committee dictate when and what types of drills are to be held. However, there are no specific instructions about how the drills are to be run," according to the conclusion in the memorandum.

The memo and other documents stated that Derek Leppek, the center’s safety officer, decided to conduct the exercise, discussing it with members of a safety committee in a meeting the day before it took place.

Michigan State Police reports within the FOIA show that Leppek texted Petti at 9:52 a.m. the day of the drill stating: "I'm going to be doing an active shooter drill sometime this morning I'm just giving you a heads up." Petti gave a reply "thumbs up" on the text message. The active intruder drill began at 10:29 a.m., per the state police report.

Several staff members called 911 after hearing an announcement that two armed intruders were in the building. The memorandum stated Leppek said he used two center workers to role-play as the shooters, who walked the building but had no weapons. The two workers were detained by responding officers and released after police confirmed the situation was a drill.

'No one should have to go through that type of experience"

David Horein's son, now 12, was a patient at Hawthorn Center during the drill. Horein was one of two sets of parents who filed a lawsuit after the incident. Horein said he acknowledges the proposed settlement agreement is a "lot of money for the state to throw out at this issue," but he is "still a little disappointed."

"My biggest thing and my stance from the very beginning has been about accountability for the decision-makers who made this decision in the first place," said Horein, who he said he moved from Michigan to Wisconsin in June to try to get better services for his son.

Because the state agreed to pay money, "it's like they acknowledge there was a problem with what they did. They have not come out and actually stated that: 'Hey, what we did was wrong. It was poor judgment. And here's what we're gonna to do in the future.' And I'd still like to see those people who made that decision held accountable. So that example can be made, so that those following in their footsteps know, 'Hey, don't do this. This is not a good thing for the kids.' "

Horein said he didn't initiate the lawsuit for the sake of money, though the money would help with his son's therapy and psychiatric treatment. He said his son left Hawthorn Center in January 2023, but Horein said any time his son passes the Hawthorn Suites hotel chain, his son indicates he has bad memories of Hawthorn Center.

Horein said he hopes the lawsuit and proposed settlement agreement will be a warning that "that was a bad idea. Don't do that again. And that's the very least we can hope for in this situation. Because no one should have to go through that type of experience."

Barricaded in her office

NaQuana Jones said she had worked at the Hawthorn Center for less than a month as a mental health social worker before the drill occurred. She said she felt "isolated and alone" when the announcement was made, not knowing anyone in the building. She said she immediately contacted her immediate supervisor when she heard the announcement.

"I was in a state of panic," the Detroit mother of four recalled, adding she wasn't prepared or trained on this type of situation.

Jones said she stayed in her office and pushed a table up to the door. She said her supervisor responded to her via text saying it's just a drill, to turn off her office light and to keep the door closed.

"So I just sat there, and I kinda felt a little relief, but then I heard that announcement again where they said shots fired. So at this point, I'm like, this is not a (expletive) drill," she said. "So at this point, I'm saying, I'm scared. I go behind the desk and I just lay flat on the floor and I started prayin' because I don't know what else to do."

Jones said she tired to call 911 at one point, but the line was busy. She reached out to the person she was dating at that time and told him to take her children, then ages 10 and 15, to her mother's if she couldn't be contacted.

Eventually, Jones said she looked out the window and saw police cars and officers putting on tactical gear and carrying long guns. She said she saw a Black man in handcuffs on the ground and started crying because she was scared for him.

During a debriefing the next day, Jones said there was "backlash," not empathy for the way employees responded.

Jones, who is a plaintiff in the litigation that was filed, said she is grateful of the proposed settlement agreement, but "what I feel like would be much more helpful and much more long-lasting is if they were to actually remove" the people "that created this entire unnecessary situation."

Payouts won't come for several months

Jones said she left the center in March and went to another job with the state in Children's Protective Services, but is currently on leave.

Wagner said the check would be "significant" for the state to have to write.

"And that will create change, because it has to. Because the next time anybody thinks of doing something, they're gonna think before they act. They're gonna know the lesson, the moral of the story," she said.

Wagner said she doesn't know whether those in charge will face any repercussions.

"Rarely, I would say, you don't often sue someone and get an apology or things are going to change promise. But we believe that meaningful change will come," she said.

Wagner said the process, if the proposed settlement agreement is approved by the judge, will take time. It's possible monetary awards would get distributed in December or early January 2025, she said.

Audit planned

Earlier this month, state Sen. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, stated in a release that the Michigan Office of Auditor General announced it will investigate the Office of Recipients Rights for how it handles allegations at the former Hawthorn Center and other state-run psychiatric hospitals.

In July, Webber requested a formal audit of the former Hawthorn Center. The most recent audit of the center was conducted in 2014, according to Webber's office.

In June, Webber called on Senate committee chairs to have a legislative hearing to investigate ongoing problems at the former center.

The state plans to build a new, $325 million inpatient psychiatric hospital on the site of the former Hawthorn Center to care for patients at the former Hawthorn Center and the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland.

Former Hawthorn Center patients and staff were moved to a separate unit at the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital at the end of June, Lynn Sutfin, a state health department spokesperson, previously said. As of July 1, Hawthorn Center was no longer an accredited entity.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: $13M settlement proposed over active intruder drill at Hawthorn Center