The Washoe County School District and the City of Sparks are each facing wrongful death lawsuits. The litigation comes after a 12-year-old boy killed himself last year.
The lawsuit against the school district alleges that a lack of response to bullying complaints may have led to the child taking his own life.
The City of Sparks lawsuit concerns its emergency response on the night of the suicide. It also includes the Sparks Police Department, including two specific officers, Sparks Fire Department, and Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA).
Pacific West Injury Law is representing the two parents, Sara Tolliver and Christopher Schatz, who are taking legal action over their son, Kellen Schatz's death.
The lawsuit says that on November 18, 2024, Kellen seemed normal. Tolliver said she knew he was bullied for quite some time; however, she did not suspect her son was dealing with depression or suicidal thoughts.
Later that night, when the family was getting ready for bed, Kellen locked himself in his room, which his mother said was very unusual.
After not hearing anything from her son and trying to break in, she called 911. Documents show that was at 9:38 p.m.
The first of two Sparks Police Officers called her back two minutes later at 9:40 p.m.
The lawsuit states the officer asked Tolliver why she needed him to go to the house. She told him she thought her son had done something to hurt himself. The officer asked if the boy had done something like this before, and she said no.
The call lasted 56 seconds, according to court documents.
The other SPD officer called at 9:45 p.m. The lawsuit does not state what took place between the two phone calls.
The second officer allegedly told the mother, "It was not his job to come and kick open the door. He then told Sara that she should try to kick the door down."
In the lawsuit, it says a police report shows officers were first dispatched at 9:46 p.m.
Tolliver was on the phone for several minutes before she went over to her neighbor's house, who is a firefighter, to help her knock down her son's door.
According to the documents, these next few events happened around 9:52 p.m.
Tolliver's neighbor was able to come to the house to break down the door. When he broke through, he saw a cord around Kellen's neck. The neighbor immediately started delivering resuscitation efforts.
The mother was still on the phone with the second officer; the call ended at 9:52 p.m. The lawsuit says that's also the time when the officer ordered an expedited response once it was known the boy had hanged himself.
Three minutes after that, the first officer showed up at the house. Then REMSA arrived just a minute later, 18 minutes after Tolliver called 911.
"At all relevant times herein, neither REMSA, Sparks Fire, Sparks PD, or the SECC sent any assets, persons, agents, or help to Sara’s home reasonably and in good faith before they became aware that Kellen had placed a cord around his neck, despite Sara begging for help," the lawsuit said.
The parents believe that if the emergency response had been quicker, their son would still be alive.
“Check on your happy friends — the ones who seem fine on the outside may still be hurting," Tolliver said in a written statement. "Have age-appropriate conversations with your children about suicide and the finality of it. There are a hundred things I would do differently if I had the chance; this was simply something I never expected to happen. Kellen was such a special person, and knowing that I will never see his smile or hear his funny stories again is a kind of pain I would not wish on any parent. He could have never imagined how deeply his loss would affect those who loved him.”
We reached out to the City of Sparks, Sparks Police Department, and the Sparks City Attorney's Office, and they all said they would not comment on pending litigation.
The second lawsuit centers strictly around the Washoe County School District. It's about 40 pages longer than the first and names many more people.
The litigation alleges that multiple teachers, school district officials, and the school's staff knew of several instances of bullying but didn't do much to stop it.
The documents say that Kellen was born with a large birthmark and protruding ears, for which he was regularly bullied.
The lawsuit says that the bullying started in sixth grade at Sky Ranch Middle School.
The suit alleges that teachers knew about the bullying but didn't think the district would do anything to address it.
"The administration’s deliberate indifference is so well-known that several of Kellen’s teachers at Sky Ranch Middle School, who were aware that Kellen was being bullied, have stated that they believed that the school and the WCSD would not do anything to address the bullying even if it was reported," the lawsuit said.
Kellen transferred to Shaw Middle School for seventh grade due to rezoning. This is where the lawsuit says the bullying got worse. It cites at least five known students who constantly bullied him.
In the four months leading up to his death, the suit says five people physically assaulted Kellen, yelled at and threatened him.
The lawsuit says that the bullies told Kellen that if he told on them, they would beat him up. So he didn't report the bullying for a while, but the bullying got so severe, Kellen finally told the school.
The litigation says Kellen reported the bullying on numerous occasions, but it wasn't fully documented by the district. The lawsuit alleges the district did not follow up on its policy for a bullying complaint.
The district does have a bullying policy.
It says that a bullying complaint can be filed verbally, in writing, or online.
Essentially, each process looks at a three-point criterion. The first is, did harm or threat of harm occur? Then, is the action unwelcome? The last one asks if the action is severe, persistent, or pervasive.
The policy says the answer for all of them has to be yes to meet the definition of bullying, then an investigation takes place. The lawsuit says no investigation was conducted by the district into the complaints.
We reached out to WCSD, and its response was, "The Washoe County School District is saddened by the death of any of our students. The safety and security of our students and staff is always our highest priority. WCSD is unable to comment on pending litigation."
The lawsuit says the district's method to stop the bullies was ineffective.
"Upon information and belief, WCSD continued to use the same ineffective method of 'detention' and talking to the offenders even though it did nothing to curb the harassment and, ultimately, caused the harassment to increase," the documents said.
The lawsuit says Kellen would ask to stay home sick all the time due to the bullying and even asked for a medical procedure to remove his birthmark and fix his ears.
After some time, Kellen did not want to report the bullying anymore because the bullies would threaten him more.
The parents believe the consistent bullying and the lack of handling the situation by the district led to Kellen taking his own life in November of last year.
“Kellen was beautiful, smart, funny, and full of light," said Christopher Schatz, Kellen's Father, in a written statement. "His laugh was infectious, and that smile… you could not help but smile back. I think of him every minute of every day and miss him tremendously. My life has changed forever, and there is an emptiness I will carry for the rest of my days. As tragic as this is, I can only hope that by keeping Kellen’s voice alive, other students might be spared from making a decision that can never be taken back.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide, do not hesitate to call the 24-hour suicide prevention hotline number at 988.
The Children's Cabinet also offers resources for students and parents who are struggling. We sat down with them to get advice for parents who find themselves in a similar situation.
"Youth nowadays don't have a way to get away from it," said Kimberley Hargrove, Behavioral Health Programs Manager, Children's Cabinet. "It's always there if it's happening to them. It's the social media, the constant interaction through the phones."
When it comes to figuring out how to deal with it, Hargrove says parents should include their children in deciding what the next steps should be. This is especially when it comes to deciding to stay in the school, transferring, or doing online or homeschooling.
"It's one of those things where it comes down to the family and what they feel is the best for their child to look at all options and determine and have the child be part of that decision," Hargrove said.
Hargrove says getting the school involved is important because there are usually issues on both sides.
"The other thing that's important to look at is the bully and the person bullying," she said. "Why? Why are they bullying? Why? What's happening with them? Is this negative behavior a cry for help?"
As of the publication of this article, there are no scheduled court dates for either of the lawsuits.
