Slander

[dross703]

I live in Ohio and my son was killed by a drunk driver 2 yrs ago. The man which did this was convicted and his family has been nothing but a large headache to us. They had wrote in comment section of the article in the newspaper that I had threatened this man outside of the courtroom, said since I was a police officer that I should have stopped the party which he had left (which was on the other side of the county where his family lives) and accused me of sending others to do his family bodily harm. All in all, everything that they had written under this article was a total out and out lie.
I know I have a few months to file due to the statute of limitations will run out in December which is 1 yr after these comments were made.

[quincy]

I am sorry about the death of your son. I also feel badly for the family of the man who killed your son. Both you and they have suffered a tremendous loss.

Ohio has a rather broad definition of defamation per se and this definition can cover any false statement made that harms a reputation directly (not through implication). A defamatory per se statement allows for the recovery of damages on presumed reputational injury.

If the comment made by the family member was false and the comment stated that you threatened the family and sought revenge against the family for what the drunk driver did, then that could be judged by a court to be defamatory per se, and no proof of reputational injury would be required for you to be compensated for the injury.

It would be up to a court to determine the defamatory nature of the statement, however, and if ruled to be other than defamation per se, you would need to show, that the statements harmed your professional or personal reputation, and you would need to show, with clear and convincing evidence, that the statements made in the comment section of the newspaper were made with actual malice (with the express intent of causing reputational harm). This proof of actual malice is required of all public official plaintiffs in a defamation action. Ohio courts have consistently ruled that law enforcement officers are public officials for the purposes of a defamation action, when the statements made about them relate to their official duties.

If you are nearing the time to file a defamation action (one year from date of first publication of the defamatory statement), you should consult with an Ohio attorney, have the attorney review the newspaper comment as printed, and discuss filing a suit. The attorney can let you know if any defamation action against this family is worth the time and expense of pursuing.

I understand how hurt and upset you must be about the comments made, comments that essentially accuse you of being partially responsible for the accident that resulted in the death of your son. But I also understand how the family must be looking for someone else to blame for what happened. It is a natural reaction, as it is hard to accept that someone you love has committed a crime that has resulted in the death of another.

I wish you continued healing.