Grieving Kentucky mother sues DC over son's sudden death

Stephanie Clemans seeks 911 call recordings to uncover truth about her son's cardiac arrest and death

Jan. 28, 2026 at 11:07am

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A grieving mother from Kentucky is suing Washington, D.C., to uncover the truth about her 28-year-old son William Ostertag's sudden death in 2024. Ostertag went into cardiac arrest in his apartment's gym and died 11 days later, and his mother Stephanie Clemans believes the 911 response was mishandled, contributing to his death. Clemans has been denied access to the 911 call recordings, which she says would help her understand the end of her son's life.

Why it matters

This case highlights issues around transparency and accountability in emergency response systems, as well as the challenges grieving families can face in obtaining information about a loved one's death. The lawsuit raises questions about whether 911 operators made mistakes in classifying the emergency, which may have delayed critical medical care.

The details

According to the lawsuit, Ostertag went into cardiac arrest in his apartment's gym and collapsed. The firehouse where paramedics were stationed was right next door, but it still took them 9 minutes to respond. By then, Ostertag had already lost oxygen to his brain and died 11 days later. Clemans obtained a timeline showing dispatchers misclassified the call as a 'seizure', sending an ambulance not equipped with the necessary drugs. However, the city has denied Clemans' requests to access the 911 call recordings, citing policy.

  • On November 3, 2024, William Ostertag went into cardiac arrest in his apartment's gym in Washington, D.C.
  • Ostertag died 11 days later, on November 14, 2024.

The players

Stephanie Clemans

Ostertag's grieving mother who is suing Washington, D.C. to obtain the 911 call recordings related to her son's death.

William Ostertag

A 28-year-old man who lived in Washington, D.C. and died after going into cardiac arrest in his apartment's gym.

Office of Unified Communications (OUC)

The agency in Washington, D.C. that has denied Clemans' requests to access the 911 call recordings related to her son's death.

Mayor Muriel Bowser

The mayor of Washington, D.C. whose Office of Legal Counsel has also denied Clemans' appeal to access the 911 call recordings.

Kevin Bell

Clemans' lawyer and a partner at the Freedom Information Group, who is urging the city to reconsider its decision to deny access to the 911 call recordings.

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What they’re saying

“My nightmare is that my vibrant, very much alive son died, and people with power are saying to me that I do not have the right to hear what was happening as he lay on the ground.”

— Stephanie Clemans (newspub.live)

“I believe, looking at this case, that this is a pretext to attempt to avoid producing records, which are potentially embarrassing to the department and which would provide information that might reflect negatively on the performance of their statutory duties... I believe that this is an instance where government can do the right thing. They can release the information that's been requested.”

— Kevin Bell, Clemans' lawyer and partner at the Freedom Information Group (newspub.live)

What’s next

Clemans is scheduled to testify as a public witness in Wednesday's D.C. Council Performance Oversight Hearing on the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) virtually at 9:30 a.m.

The takeaway

This case highlights the challenges grieving families can face in obtaining information about a loved one's death, as well as the need for greater transparency and accountability in emergency response systems. The lawsuit raises important questions about whether 911 operators made mistakes that contributed to Ostertag's death, and whether the city is withholding information that could shed light on the incident.