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Irish suicide victim’s family sues NYPD, Queens hospital and FDNY

Family of Meath native Paul O’Shaughnessy goes public with lawsuit

MOLLY MULDOON,

Irish Voice Reporter

Published Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 7:28 AM

Updated Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 10:08 AM

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Paul O’Shaughnessy (pictured) died at the age of 44 on Friday, September 28

Photo by Handout

“It’s a really tough situation for the family. We want everyone to come out and show their support.”

The fundraiser will go towards helping raise funds for Susan and the couple’s four children.
Entertainment for the benefit includes bands such as Alan Gogarty, Steven Reilly, and Paddy Geraghty as well as numerous Irish musicians, including fiddle player Niall Mulligan and Irish dancers.

According to event organizers, there will also be hourly raffles with prizes, a children's corner with a magician, face painting and balloon making. There are two separate raffles and tickets will be sold through December 16, when the winners of both the $100 raffle and $20 raffle will be drawn.

Tickets for both raffles are being sold in all local bars and can be purchased by contacting Sidetracks or anyone on the committee. Prizes include a $3,000 travel voucher, self-catering holiday in Montauk, self-catering holiday in Cape Cod, flat screen TVs, an iPad and iPod.

The main event will take place around 9 p.m. when auctioneer Cha Connaughton takes to the hammer with the monster auction. Up for grabs will be a Bon Jovi guitar signed by all the band members, a GAA 2012 all-star signed jersey, a Donegal jersey signed by the 2012 all-stars and more..

Donations may be made through Paypal using the email address oshaughnessyfamilyfund@gmail.com. Checks may be mailed to O'Shaughnessy Family Fund, PO Box 4531, Sunnyside, New York 11104. For more information visit www.oshaughnessyfamilyfund.com.

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saraindc | Dec 13, 2012, 01:14 PM EST

Its a deep loss for the family but the blame game has to stop. the cops stopped him from cutting his throat - where are they thankful for that! Blaming them for locking him up isnt the way to go - the guy had issues way beyond his arrest and was clearly unbalanced before all this rolled out - people have to stop with this lark of suing everyone just because someone did what they were clearly committed to doing. stop blaming everyone and look at what was wrong with him before he followed through on his mission. easier to blame the officials instead of figure out what should have been done to get him help before he acted out. the kids lost their dad but thats not down to the cops - what did the family do to get him mental treatment before that?

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anglo-norman | Dec 12, 2012, 04:01 PM EST

RIP & condolences to his family

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bunkerisland | Dec 12, 2012, 01:15 PM EST

We don't have enough information to pass judgment here and perhaps we shouldn't anyway. Assuming he did have his own knife to his throat the police were apparently able to calm the situation enough at that time to remove the knife. Why he was then placed in a jail cell rather than a mental health/substance abuse crisis intervention facility is of concern. Perhaps there are none available. Some rather young children have lost their father and now need some help dealing with this loss. Are there extended family or area agencies can help these children in their loss?

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chicksooze | Dec 12, 2012, 12:41 PM EST

Same goes for you Deidra47. Have some respect, you never know, you may be in Paul's family's situation one day, stop being so damn ignorant. Self righteous idiot.

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chicksooze | Dec 12, 2012, 12:38 PM EST

Barmaidsah, you know NOTHING of the details of this case, so how dare you make stupid assumptions like that. So keep your trap shut and have some respect. Marybeth, stop stereotyping all the Irish. You know nothing about Paul or his family.

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jamieLM | Dec 12, 2012, 12:18 PM EST

I agree with Barmaidsah's comments.

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Conchubar | Dec 12, 2012, 12:17 PM EST

Threatening suicide generally is NOT against the law; however, oftentimes arresting someone on any possible charge is the only way to get that person into a custodial situation where they can receive assistance. This article is woefully short on details: "Held in jail for a period of time." An hour, several hours, days, weeks? Was he arrested, jailed for a few hours, then transferred to a medical/mental facility? Did the arresting officer have any alternatives to get Mr.O’Shaughnessy the help he needed? Suicide is a tragic occurrance for the family and my heart goes out to them for their loss.

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Deidra47 | Dec 12, 2012, 10:47 AM EST

Blame everybody but themselves. The family knew he was in trouble...why disn't they assist their own family member. I agree with the comments made by Barmaidsah.

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MarybethC.P. | Dec 12, 2012, 10:19 AM EST

This horrific tragedy forces me to speak of three things our Irish community worldwide must address: 1) our people have a tendency towards depression, 2) our people have a tendency to drink alcohol, a depressant chemical too often, and 3) our world-class stoicism leads to denial of all problems we have, whether medical or social or behavioral. Please let Paul's tragic death, whether or not he fits into this profile, draw attention to our problems. Because problems cannot be solved until we are willing to acknowledge we have them!

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Barmaidsah | Dec 12, 2012, 09:50 AM EST

I feel badly for this man's family. However, had they held him against his will, I can't help but think that this same family would be crying about discrimination. Suicide is never easy to understand, but maybe they family should be looking to themselves (not the US govt, the NY police or the hospital) for failing this to get this man the help he needed. And while I may not be able to understand how stressful it is to "uproot", He was here for 20 years, plenty of time to work through the stress, or return home if he wasn't able to adjust.

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handsome68 | Dec 12, 2012, 09:33 AM EST

I second the remark(s) made by the two Commenters so far, especially 2ndrepubalik. The art of conversation, which used to be the hallmark of people with good educations, is even being lost by the so-called 1%. Talking in the pub over jars is not conducive to mental health for those who are at risk. Telling someone to suck it up, is not helpful. Everyone is an individual and should be treated with loving care. A punch in the jaw might not be helpful for some. What to do? Talk is one answer. Coffee, tea. Talk to people you can trust.

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Joe Kelsall | Dec 12, 2012, 08:45 AM EST

Is threatening suicide a crime in the USA? This was obviously a man crying for help \ and he was let down by several USA government agencies. Land of the Free? I think not!

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2ndrepubalik | Dec 12, 2012, 08:18 AM EST

Having to "uproot" and relocate and settle in another Country is highly stressful and potentially damaging to mental health - a dimension our Politicians and "thier" Families back home do not experience ! For legal emigrants/immigrants thrtre should be support services provided by both the Host Country and the "old" Country but this appears to be idealistic ? I cannot help but feel that this is a hidden side to the whole "diaspora" which people choose to ignore back home ( where I am ). I am so sorry top read of tragic deaths like this - particularly when they could have been avoided by timely intervention. RIP Paul !

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