STILLWATER, Minn. — Nearly three years after a corrections officer was brutally murdered by an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, his family is pleading for justice.
In July 2018, 45-year-old Joseph Gomm was killed after an inmate attacked him with a hammer. In October 2020, that inmate – Edward Johnson – pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
But on Thursday at the Washington County Courthouse, Gomm’s family says they’re still seeking department-wide change and compensation for their loss.
“For the last three years, all we’ve gotten from everybody is, ‘We are sorry for your loss, we want to make this right.’ We have gotten nothing but lip service from everybody because nobody wants to do anything,” said Gomm’s sister, Audrey Cone, who stood alongside other family members.
The family and their attorney say they’re urging the state legislature to take up a bill that would give the family $3 million and, more importantly – according to the family – result in sweeping safety changes in the system.
“It sends a message to all the current DOC (Department of Corrections) members, employees, that their lives don’t matter,” Cone said on Thursday about the delay.
According to their attorney, Mike Padden, the family decided to settle their case directly with the state legislature in hopes of avoiding litigation. But Padden noted they’re now up against a deadline – the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
“This is not a political issue. This is something where everybody needs to get together and get it done, period,” Padden said.
In a statement, Sen. Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) – who sponsored the bill related to the Gomm case – said her “heart is with the Gomm family, and I am still working to help them receive fair compensation for their loss. I am encouraging my colleagues to consider their request and support the family’s right to seek justice through any means available.”
Also in a statement sent to KARE 11 on Thursday, a DOC spokesperson noted the changes that have happened at the Stillwater facility since Gomm’s death, including adding staff to some work areas, adding cameras and limiting access to potentially dangerous tools. The statement also noted that adding to the family’s compensation would set a precedent that lawmakers should, “consider closely.”
But those words fall short of what Gomm’s family says their loved one deserves.
“He was brutally beaten beyond recognition, and the state of Minnesota wants to say that because my mother received a $60 thousand worker’s comp death benefit that it’s all over with?” Cone asked, before adding, “I promised Joe that if anything ever happened to him, we would fight to give him justice, and we’re not getting it.”
The full DOC statement sent to KARE 11 is as follows:
Since the death of Officer Joe Gomm, substantial changes have occurred at Stillwater. Changes include a comprehensive look facility-wide at operations, eliminating double-bunking, improving staffing patterns and levels in industry areas, revision and updating of the tool control policy, improving work area layouts, along with updates and additions to camera systems. Staff no longer work alone with the incarcerated population. When an individual staff members passes through an area, staff have visuals of each other or are monitored on camera. Security personnel in the industry shops do rounds on a two person basis.
In addition, Minnesota has a law regarding line of duty death benefits for corrections officers under MS 299A.44. The law provides a mechanism for eligible families to receive a separate cash line of duty death benefit in addition to workers compensation. The legislature also created an education benefit for surviving spouses and children under MS299A.45 (note that Officer Gomm did not have a spouse or children so this didn’t apply to him). The Gomm family has received a line of duty death benefit payment from the state of Minnesota.
There is also a federal line of duty cash payment death benefit for the surviving family. More information here. The Gomm family has received a line of duty death benefit payment from the federal government.
In addition to the state and federal public safety officer line of duty death benefit payment, Officer Gomm’s estate accepted compensation under the Workers Compensation Act.
In summary:
- Minnesota legislature has already passed into law a line of duty death benefit for corrections officers under MS 299A.44 and put a mechanism in for eligible families to benefit from it. The Gomm family has received these benefits.
- The legislature has created the avenues in MS 299A.44 – specific to line of duty death for professionals like peace officers and corrections officers. The Workers Comp Act and the public safety officer death benefit options are the exclusive remedies by MN law.
- Giving one family a direct appropriation might seem unfair to others who did not receive direct appropriations – even other corrections officers, like Officer Parise, who died in the line of duty. A direct appropriation also sets a precedent that the legislature has to consider closely.
- Federal law also recognizes the sacrifices made by those killed in the line of duty and offers benefits to the family of corrections officers killed in the line of duty.
- The Minnesota Workers Compensation Act (WCA) provides the exclusive remedy for a state employee seeking compensation from the state for personal injuries or death arising out of and in the course of employment.
The murder of Officer Joe Gomm remains the darkest day in the history of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Joe Gomm is the first and only officer to be killed in the line of duty in the agency’s history.
Edward Johnson, the man who killed Officer Gomm, plead guilty to first-egree murder in October of 2020 and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.