Sawyer v. Coleman

Pope, Presiding Judge.

This case arises out of the tragic circumstances surrounding a 14-year-old boy’s suicide by jumping from a two-story fire escape. At the time of his death, the boy was in the custody of the Department of Children & Youth Services (DCYS) in Walton County. Janice Sawyer, the boy’s mother, brought suit against Leslie Coleman, her son’s probation officer, and Margaret Laskey, Coleman’s supervisor, asserting numerous federal and state claims.1 The trial court granted Coleman and Laskey summary judgment on all claims, but Sawyer’s appeal challenges only the grant of summary…