Police Officer Drops Lawsuit amid Public Outrage

By Robert Carrier

Published on October 16, 2007

On Friday, Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn abandoned her case in the midst of strong public disapproval. Eichhorn had originally filed the lawsuit on October 1, accusing the family of negligence, but is now dropping the lawsuit altogether.

On January 1, Eichhorn responded to a 911 call from the Cosmillo family. Angela Cosmillo had called the police because her 1-year-old brain-damaged son had fallen in the family’s pool and nearly drowned. Eichhorn responded to the call along with paramedics. Eichhorn slipped and fell on the water that had been brought into the house when the family removed the boy from the pool, and broke her kneecap as a result. She was off-duty for two months, during which time she received full pay and her medical expenses were paid for.

When news of her lawsuit broke last week, Casselberry residents inundated the city's police department and town hall with calls for the lawsuit's dismissal. In light of the public outcry, the police department opened an investigation into the incident, and Eichhorn opted to drop the lawsuit. The Casselberry Police Department is continuing with its investigation despite Eichhorn’s dismissal of the suit.

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