Family settles with Spokane County for $7.5 million in 2019 murder-suicide

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office agreed last month to pay $7.5 million to the family of a man killed in a 2019 murder-suicide, one of the largest wrongful death settlements in Spokane County.

Makayla M. Moody alleged in federal court that her husband, Benjamin L. Grosser, was wrongfully killed as a result of a Spokane County deputy’s inactions on May 30, 2019, after a dispute with the couple’s neighbor at their home near Orchard Prairie where they operated a landscaping business.

Grosser, 29, was shot by his neighbor, David Cholewinski, 61, after a road-rage incident between the neighbor and Grosser’s employees at his landscaping business. Cholewinski pointed a handgun at the employees after he said they cut him off. The situation escalated when a sheriff’s deputy issued a citation for misdemeanor to Cholewinski without making an arrest.

“Less than 10 minutes later, at approximately 6:05 p.m., a predictable horror unfolded,” the lawsuit states.

Cholewinski, who was believed to be drunk, armed and even angrier than before, began shooting at the Grossers and their property. He approached Grosser and shot him once in the side as his wife and two children, 7 months and 3 years old, hid inside. Cholewinski then went to his property and took his own life.

“What is critical and important about this case is that the actions of law enforcement put the community and citizens in more danger than they would have been otherwise,” said Meaghan Driscoll, an attorney at Connelly Law Offices who represented Moody. “It was Makayla’s hope and intent, and our hope and intent as her lawyers, that this case would wake up the Spokane County Sheriff’s department so that when they are responding to critical incidents they are doing so properly and not placing people in more danger.”

Moody and her lawyers argued in the lawsuit that the situation was a result of “inadequate policies and procedures by the Spokane County sheriff’s department, and inadequate ongoing training.”

The sheriff’s office has not formalized any change in policy since the killing.

According to the lawsuit, Cholewinski called Grosser after the road-rage incident and left him an angry voicemail that said he got out his gun “and was about ready to shoot” his employees after they cut him off.

Cholewinski also called Crime Check to make his own report after Grosser’s employees also called 911. Cholewinski was clear that he was angry at Grosser and his business, which he said employed “a bunch of illegals.”

The Sheriff’s Office sent a deputy with more than 20 years of experience, James Reed. In an interview with the victims, Reed learned that Cholewinski had entered the Grosser property on at least one other occasion and pulled a gun on bystanders, the lawsuit said.

Reed then interviewed Cholewinski, noting that he appeared intoxicated. The lawsuit states that Reed did not believe he could or should arrest Cholewisnki, but instead believed he had only probable cause to cite him for a misdemeanor for brandishing a firearm.

“The perpetrator was not arrested and booked into jail, nor was he separated from his firearms, his motor vehicle, the alcohol he continued to drink in the deputy’s presence, or the individuals on the neighboring property he had previously threatened,” the lawsuit states. “When the deputy informed Cholewinski that he was being charged with a crime, Cholewinski became even angrier than he was when the deputy first arrived on-scene. … The deputy then left the scene without taking further action – leaving a greatly angered and highly intoxicated Cholewinski with continued access to alcohol, his vehicle, and his firearms.”

A 911 call captured the final moments of the shooting when Cholewinski confronted Grosser, who continuously asks him to “please” stop.

Grosser was transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he died the following day.

Additionally, radio traffic recordings from the incident were destroyed by Spokane County after Moody and her attorneys requested they be preserved past their 90-day expiration.

“The explanation that’s given is, ‘Oh, it just fell through the cracks,’ ” Driscoll said. “If this had gone to a jury, that would have been a question to the jury. Was the deletion of the audio a mistake or was it an attempt to obfuscate what happened that day?”’

Moody filed suit in Spokane County Superior Court in 2021 before filing in federal court. She is “cautiously optimistic and hopeful” that her lawsuit will help change the way the sheriff’s office deputies respond to similar situations, Driscoll said.

“Our hope is that by paying such a high amount, it shows that they recognize this was an egregious error and they needed to do what they could to compensate Makayla and her children,” she said.

The Spokane County Commission will vote to approve the settlement.