Beans v. City of Massillon
| Decision Date | 30 December 2016 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. 5:15-cv-1475 |
| Parties | CHERYL BEANS, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Shane Allen Ryan, PLAINTIFF, v. CITY OF MASSILLON, et al., DEFENDANTS. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before the Court are the following dispositive motions: (1) the motion of defendants City of Massillon ("Massillon"), Kathy Catazaro-Perry ("Catazaro-Perry"), William Peel ("Peel"), Paul Covert ("Covert"), Jason Greenfield ("Greenfield"), and David McConnell ("McConnell") (collectively "Massillon defendants") for summary judgment (Doc. No. 46 ["Massillon MSJ"]; (2) the motion of defendants City of Canton ("Canton"), William Healy II ("Healy"), Bruce Lawver ("Lawver"), David Davis ("Davis"), Lisa Broucker ("Broucker"), Charles Saler ("Saler"), Donald Miller ("Miller"), Travis Pellegrino ("Pellegrino"), and Brandon Shackle ("Shackle") (collectively "Canton defendants") for summary judgment (Doc. No. 48 ["Canton MSJ"]; and (3) the motion of plaintiff Cheryl Beans ("plaintiff" or "Beans") for summary judgment (Doc. No. 49 ["Plaintiff MSJ"]). The motions are fully briefed. (See Doc. No. 58 (Plaintiff's Opposition to Massillon Defendants' Summary Judgment Motion ["Massillon MSJ Opp'n"]); Doc. No. 84 (Reply Brief in Support of Massillon Defendants' Summary Judgment Motion ["Massillon MSJ Reply"]); Doc. No. 60 (Plaintiff's Opposition to Canton Defendants' Summary Judgment Motion ["Canton MSJ Opp'n"]); Doc. No. 83 (Reply Brief in Support of Canton Defendants' Summary Judgment Motion ["Canton MSJ Reply"]); Doc. No. 55 (Massillon Defendants' Response to Plaintiff's Summary Judgment Motion ["Plaintiff MSJ Massillon Opp'n"]); Doc. No. 67 (Canton Defendants' Response to Plaintiff's Summary Judgment Motion ["Plaintiff MSJ Canton Opp'n"]); Doc. No. 85 (); Doc. No. 86 ()).
For the reasons to follow, the motions of Massillon defendants and Canton defendants for summary judgment are granted, and plaintiff's summary judgment motion is denied.
The tragic events that supply the foundation for the present civil rights action were set in motion with a walk. On July 28, 2013, Shane Ryan ("Ryan" or "deceased") called his ex-girlfriend2, Taylor McLendon ("McLendon"). Unable to reach her by phone, Ryan decided to walk 10 miles to the Great Clips Hair Salon in Massillon, Ohio, where McLendon was employed. It is undisputed that, along the way, Ryan placed a called to the Crisis Intervention and Recovery Center ("Crisis Center"). Given the distressed nature of Ryan's call, a representative of the Crisis Center contacted the Stark County Sheriff's Office and reported the call. Using GPS tracking technology or triangulation, the Stark County Sherriff's Office was able to determine that Ryan was in Massillon. (Doc. No. 71 (Deposition of Jason Greenfield["Greenfield Dep."]) at 2050-52.3) The sheriff's office contacted the Massillon Police Department and requested assistance in locating Ryan. (Id. at 2050-51.)
While local law enforcement was looking for him, Ryan arrived at the salon only to discover that McLendon was not there. What happened next is disputed, but the parties agree that the customers present in the salon vacated the building and one of the salon's employees, Heather Patterson ("Patterson"), ended up with Ryan in a small room in the back of the salon.4 Shortly after the customers left the store, some unidentified person placed a 911 call from the salon to the Massillon Police Department and hung up. Responding to the call, Massillon police were dispatched to the salon. (Id. at 2053.)
Sergeant Brian Muntean ("Muntean") was the first Massillon police officer to arrive at the scene. Once there, Muntean radioed dispatch and, with "a lot of stress in his voice," requested backup advising that a hostage situation had developed at the salon and that the suspect was possibly armed with a gun. (Greenfield Dep. at 2063; Doc. No. 69 (Deposition of David McConnell ["McConnell Dep."]) at 1952.) Greenfield was the Massillon officer in chargeof the shift that day, and he immediately left the station for the salon. (Greenfield Dep. at 2053.) Defendant McConnell, a detective with the Massillon Police Department, along with various other Massillon police officers, also responded to the call for assistance. (McConnell Dep. at 1952-53.)
When he arrived on the scene, McConnell was advised by Muntean that a suspect named Shane Ryan had barricaded himself in a small utility room at the rear of the salon with a hostage, later identified as Heather Patterson. (McConnell Dep. at 1953.) Ryan could be heard in the utility room yelling, and he appeared to be very upset. (Id.) Through the door that separated the utility room from the rest of the salon, Ryan demanded to speak with McLendon, and was heard to say (Greenfield Dep. at 2064; see McConnell Dep. at 1954.) Patterson could also be heard through the door "whimpering[.]" (Greenfield Dep. at 2138.) Officers could tell that Patterson was also very upset. (McConnell Dep. at 1956.)
Within moments of his own arrival on the scene, Greenfield determined that the police were facing a "very serious situation[.]" (Greenfield Dep. at 2074.) Because Massillon did not have its own special weapons and tactics team ("SWAT"), Greenfield called dispatch to inquire as to the availability of other local SWAT teams. (Id.) He was advised that members of Canton's Regional SWAT could arrive within 40 minutes. (Id. at 2075.)
Defendant Saler, a Sergeant with Canton's Police Department and the leader of the Canton Regional SWAT, was contacted and apprised of the situation. (Doc. No. 62 (Deposition of Charles Saler ["Saler Dep."]) at 1462-63.) Pursuant to established protocol, Saler contacted defendant Lawver, Chief of the Canton Police Department, for the purpose of establishing that permission had been granted for the Canton Regional SWAT to assist the Massillon police forcein dealing with the stand-off. (Id. at 1464.) He was advised that the appropriate officials from Massillon and Canton had communicated and determined that the Canton Regional SWAT would offer its services. (Id. at 1465-66.) Saler then used a telephone notification system to summon other SWAT members to report for an emergency hostage mission. (Doc. No. 48-7 (Affidavit of Charles Saler ["Saler Aff.]) ¶ 2.) Defendants Shackle and Pellegrino, both Canton police officers and members of Canton Regional SWAT, reported to the Canton Police Station. Defendant Miller reported directly to the scene. (Id.)
While Greenfield, McConnell, and other Massillon police officers waited for Canton Regional SWAT members to arrive, McConnell initiated a conversation with Ryan through the closed door in an attempt to build a rapport with Ryan and calm him down. (McConnell Dep. at 1955-56.) During this conversation, Ryan indicated that he needed a cigarette. (Id. at 1958.) On the counter of the salon, McConnell found a plastic shopping bag with loose tobacco, materials for rolling cigarettes, and a lighter. (Id. at 1958-60; Greenfield Dep. at 2065.) Ryan agreed to exchange the materials in the bag for several weapons, including scissors and a folding pocket knife. (McConnell Dep. at 1957.) The exchange was made when Ryan cracked the door open. (Id. at 1960-61.)
Approximately 15 minutes after the exchange, McConnell placed a call to Ryan and asked to speak with Patterson. (McConnell Dep. at 1962-63.) Once she was on the line, McConnell asked Patterson if she was all right and inquired as to whether Ryan had any other weapons in the utility room. At first, Patterson said she was not sure, but she later stated that she did not see any other weapons. (Id. at 1964.)
When Canton Regional SWAT arrived on the scene, Greenfield met the team's members in the salon's parking lot and began to brief them on the situation. (Greenfield Dep. at 2080;Saler Dep. at 1475, 1484.) Saler and the other SWAT members were advised that Massillon police had been negotiating with Ryan for approximately one and one half hours, that he had a hostage, and that he had informed the officers that he would either kill a police officer or be killed by one. (Saler Aff. ¶ 3.) They were also informed that Massillon officers did not know if Ryan had any other weapons. (Id.)
Following the briefing, Greenfield escorted the SWAT members to the salon where they could hear Ryan yelling and screaming from the back room. It was clear to Greenfield that the situation had "turned really nasty really fast." (Greenfield Dep. at 2080; see also id. at 2138 []; Saler Dep. at 1486 [].) Greenfield and the SWAT members were informed that a call had been arranged between Ryan and McLendon that had ended with Ryan yelling, "You caused this", and when McConnell rejected Ryan's suggestion that McLendon be traded for Patterson, the communications broke down entirely and Ryan terminated the call. (Greenfield Dep. at 2079.)
Ryan's next comment through the door put everyone on high alert. Yelling, Ryan threatened the officers, stating "You've got [so many] minutes5, and then I'm going to blow the place up." (McConnell Dep. at 1994.) Ryan informed the officers that he had opened up the natural gas lines, and he was going to kill the hostage and use his lighter to cause an explosion in the building. (Saler Dep. at 1486.) As Ryan was conveying this threat, Patterson, who had been whimpering, was "crying really loud." (Greenfield Dep. at 2138.) With these new threats from Ryan, the officers assembled agreed that the situation...
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