Fishel Downey attorneys, Daniel Downey and Stephanie Schoolcraft, recently secured a favorable decision in favor of the Licking County Sheriff’s Office, from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This case arose after Licking County received a report of a drunk driver. After running the plate, the vehicle came back stolen by an allegedly “armed and dangerous” suspect. Three officers made contact with the driver who was parked on a dirt road and outside his vehicle. The driver complied with the officers’ commands to get on the ground by getting on his knees and raising his hands; however, he verbally refused the officers, repeated commands to lie down, each time becoming more belligerent. The driver reached for his open truck and the officers warned the driver he would be tased. After three warnings, Officer Stetson tased and handcuffed the driver. The officers then learned the driver was the true owner of the vehicle, which was stolen a week earlier, and accidentally reentered as stolen.
The driver brought fourteen claims against the Licking County Sheriff’s Office and the responding officers, but the District Court ruled on all claims in favor of Licking County. Now, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the District Court’s ruling. The Sixth Circuit held Officer Stetson was entitled to qualified immunity since he had reason to believe the driver was armed and intoxicated. The driver did not merely fail to comply with the officers’ commands, but he repeatedly refused to take a reasonable measure to reduce the risk to the officers’ safety. Therefore, it was objectively reasonable for Officer Stetson to tase the driver. The Court affirmed the ruling for Licking County since the driver was unable to prove a constitutional violation occurred.
The attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff, LLP routinely defend law enforcement agencies and their employees in state and federal court. If you have any questions about this case or any other matter, please contact us at info@fisheldowney.com or call 614.221.1216.