Man who was shot at Vancouver VA campus sues county

A man who was working for the Department Veterans Affairs when he was shot on the Vancouver VA campus by a former colleague has filed a lawsuit against Clark County for failing to protect him.

Allen Bricker, who filed suit Jan. 29, served as the chief financial officer for Veterans Affairs Northwest Health Network in January and February 2014. The clinic is housed in the Center for Community Health at 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., which is owned by the county.

The complaint alleges the county was negligent, in part for failing to take reasonable steps to address safety issues in the common areas of the community health building. The suit also alleges the building’s security contractor, First Response, was negligent.

On Feb. 4, 2014, Deborah Lennon, a former financial auditor who worked alongside Bricker at Veterans Affairs, walked into his fourth-floor office and shot him twice in the back. Bricker survived his injuries but still has two bullets lodged in his body — one in his spine and one in his chest muscle. Lennon was sentenced last year in Clark County Superior Court to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Lennon had spent two years stalking Bricker, her former supervisor, after she left her job in 2012, prompting him to seek a protection order in January 2013. She wrote hundreds of harassing emails to Bricker, so he changed his email address, the complaint says, but Lennon’s conduct continued and eventually escalated.

She showed up at Bricker’s office two to three weeks before the shooting and was escorted off the property, the complaint says. Afterward, the county installed a lock on the back door of the office and looked into installing access control devices on each door to the office.

Bricker is seeking general and special damages, including medical expenses, lost wages and loss of earning capacity in amounts to be determined prior to trial. His wife, Laura Bricker, also is seeking damages for loss of consortium.

Chris Horne, the county’s chief civil deputy prosecutor, was out of the office Friday and could not be reached for comment.