Volunteer Beat at Oregon Women’s Shelter Seeks $675K

November 23, 2015

A volunteer seeks $675,000 in a lawsuit against the Gospel Rescue Mission of Grants Pass, Ore. alleging it failed to protect her from an enraged man whose wife and daughter were at a women’s shelter.

The lawsuit and a police report from the 2013 incident say Toni Sue Burrows was pepper sprayed and beaten by Matt Cortez. A grand jury indicted Cortez on assault and other charges, and a warrant is out for his arrest.

The lawsuit filed this week in Grants Pass says the mission lacked adequate security and ignored Burrows’ request to establish a locking-of-doors procedure. It also contends a man should have been the one to tell Cortez he couldn’t enter the shelter to see his wife.

court -- lawsuit, gavel, moneyBurrows seeks $175,000 for current and future medical bills, and up to $500,000 in non-economic damages.

Mission director Ken Amelio didn’t immediately return a call for comment.

Topics Oregon

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Latest Comments

  • November 26, 2015 at 5:23 am
    UW says:
    Wrong, as you are on every single topic I have ever seen you comment about. Oregon's crime rate per 100,000 people is 288, which is about 60% the national average. I know you ... read more
  • November 25, 2015 at 4:13 pm
    bravodawg says:
    She had no business handling the situation in the first place she should have gotten a staff member or called 911..the fact that she is suing an institution that helps the hom... read more
  • November 24, 2015 at 1:54 pm
    Canuck says:
    I hope she is successful in her suit against the Mission. Organizations like this depend on volunteers, and need to take seriously their responsibility to protect them.

Add a CommentSee All Comments (6)Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

More News
More News Features