A tragic and deeply troubling lawsuit has been filed, highlighting severe allegations of negligence and systemic failures within multiple New Orleans institutions. Rita Gentile has lodged a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on June 21, 2024, against the New Orleans City Park Improvement Association, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, NOPD Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, and Orleans Parish Coroner Dwight McKenna.
The case revolves around the untimely death of Dante Gentile, a 26-year-old artist and musician who experienced an acute psychological breakdown between June 23 and July 1, 2023. According to the complaint, Dante's mother alleges that her son’s death was avoidable and resulted from gross negligence by various authorities. On June 23, 2023, Dante was arrested by the City Park Police Department (CPPD) after a report indicated he was acting suspiciously. Despite his apparent mental distress, no assessment was conducted during his arrest or subsequent confinement at Orleans Parish Prison (OPP). Medical records noted an urgent need for mental health evaluation which was repeatedly denied.
After being released without any mental health instructions on June 24, Dante returned to City Park the next day in a state of severe psychological distress. He was arrested again but received no proper care or assessment. On June 26, a judge ordered him to be placed on suicide watch after he expressed suicidal thoughts during court proceedings. A psychiatrist diagnosed him with unspecified psychosis and prescribed anti-psychotic medication.
Despite these red flags and explicit medical orders for continuous monitoring and emergency room evaluation upon release, Dante was inexplicably discharged from OPP on June 30 without any follow-up care. Later that evening, he was found standing on an overpass bridge threatening to jump. Ten NOPD officers responded but failed to identify him or recognize his critical condition. They let him go into the night alone after coaxing him off the bridge with inappropriate offers.
Tragically, Dante ended up at the Falstaff apartment building where he jumped to his death from its roof shortly before midnight on June 30. His body lay undiscovered until July 1 when it was found decomposing due to malfunctioning refrigeration at the Coroner’s office which held his remains for over two months without contacting next of kin.
Rita Gentile is seeking compensatory damages exceeding $75,000 for wrongful death under claims including violations of her son's Fourteenth Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C §1983 by failing to provide adequate medical care and inflicting emotional distress through gross negligence.
Representing Rita Gentile are attorneys Richard C. Trahant and Soren E. Gisleson from Herman Herman & Katz law firm. The case is presided over by Judge GGG-MBN under Civil Action No: 24-1607.