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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Dad Says Sheriff’s Deputy Killed His Son

TAMPA (CN) - Moments after a sheriff's deputy ordered an intoxicated man to leave the trailer park where he lived, the deputy ran him over and killed him, speeding at night without his emergency lights or siren on, the man's father claims in Superior Court.

Harold Loschen sued Sheriff David Gee in Hillsborough County Court. The deputy, Michael Hannaford, is listed throughout the complaint but is not named as a defendant.

Loschen says his late son, Jonathon, 26, was killed two days after he had moved into the trailer park. Jonathon had not yet met his new neighbors, and when one of them saw him sitting under a tree, singing, she called the sheriff.

"Jonathon Loschen was sitting outside of the mobile home waiting for his roommate to get home to let him inside the house, as he did not have a key yet," his father says.

Hannaford responded to the call, and when Jonathon could not prove he lived there, Hannaford ordered him to leave, "even after taking note that Jonathon Loschen was heavily intoxicated," according to the complaint.

"Abiding by the deputy's orders, Jonathon Loschen left the mobile home park. Shortly after leaving the mobile home park, Jonathon Loschen was riding his bicycle across Highway 92, heading north, when he was struck and killed by Deputy Hannaford.

"Deputy Hannaford was traveling at approximately 60-70 miles per hour, responding to an emergency call, without activating his emergency lights or sirens. The posted speed limit at the location is 50 miles per hour."

The father adds that the sheriff's own investigator "estimated that Deputy Hannaford slowed to approximately 54 miles per hour at the point of impact with Jonathon Loschen's bicycle. ...

"Deputy Hannaford struck him with such force that Jonathon Loschen was thrown from his bike onto the vehicle's windshield and propelled 72.4 feet before he came to his final resting spot in a ditch on the side of the road."

The father demands damages for wrongful death. He is represented by Michael Maddux.

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