Eibel v. Melton

• Decision Date: 23 October 2012
• Docket Number: No. 2:10–128.,2:10–128.
• Citation: 904 F.Supp.2d 785
• Parties: Abby EIBEL, as Administrator of the Estate of Ronald Eibel, Deceased, and on behalf of Decedent's children, Samara Y. Eibel and Alanna Eibel, Plaintiffs, v. W.B. MELTON, Individually and Officially as Sheriff of Overton County, Tennessee; Derek Sidwell, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; John Mackie, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; Michael Tharp, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; Robert garrett, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; John Garrett, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

904 F.Supp.2d 785

Abby EIBEL, as Administrator of the Estate of Ronald Eibel, Deceased, and on behalf of Decedent's children, Samara Y. Eibel and Alanna Eibel, Plaintiffs,

v.W.B. MELTON, Individually and Officially as Sheriff of Overton County, Tennessee; Derek Sidwell, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; John Mackie, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; Michael Tharp, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; Robert garrett, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department; John Garrett, Individually and Officially as an employee of the Overton County Sheriff's Department, Defendants.

No. 2:10–128.

United States District Court,

M.D. Tennessee,

Northeastern Division.

Oct. 23, 2012.

Richard Marshall Brooks, Carthage, TN, for Plaintiffs.

Robyn Beale Williams, Farrar & Bates, Nashville, TN, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

KEVIN H. SHARP, District Judge.

This is an action by the wife of Ronald Eibel, who was fatally shot by deputies of the Overton County Sheriff's Department. Pending before the Court are fully briefed cross-motions for summary judgment. (Docket Nos. 22 & 27). The Court heard oral argument on those motions on August 6, 2012, after which supplemental briefs were filed. For the reasons that follow, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 22) will be denied, while Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 27) will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On December 31, 2009, Ronald Eibel, and his wife, Abby Eibel, went to a New Year's Eve party at the home of Ursula and William Paterna who lived approximately one mile away from the Eibel's residence. While at the party, Mr. Eibel became heavily intoxicated. Mrs. Eibel also drank at the party, consuming at least two shots of tequila.¹

Prior to leaving the party at approximately 8:45 p.m., Mr. Eibel commented that he did not like Joe Calvette, and that “he was tired of all of this back and forth, he wished it would stop and he probably should just go beat him up.” ² The comment was made in the context of a continuing conflict between Mr. Eibel and Mr. Calvette.

Upon arriving home, Mr. Eibel, exited the car and walked toward the road, telling his wife he was “going to beat Joe up,” because he was “tired of this,” and wanted “to make him pee his pants.” While walking down the road to the Calvette's residence, a car approached, and the driver stopped to see if Mr. Eibel needed assistance. Mr. Eibel then had a brief conversation with the occupants of the vehicle about Mr. Calvette.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Eibel got in her car and drove down the road in an effort to find her husband. Upon locating him, she convinced him to get into the car, and the pair returned home. Mrs. Eibel assisted Mr. Eibel into bed at approximately 9:00 p.m. Mrs. Eibel retired approximately an hour and a half later.

At 9:02 p.m., 911 dispatch received a call from the Calvette's residence. The caller reported that a motorist had seen Mr. Eibel walking down the road, armed and intoxicated, and claiming to be going to the Calvette's home. At 9:18 p.m., Sergeant Robert Garrett of the Overton County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to go to the area of East Fork Land and Peach Stone Lane to investigate, and was told by dispatch that Mr. Eibel was armed and making verbal threats against Mr. Calvette.³ Four minutes later, a second call was made to 911 dispatchers, reporting that Mr. Eibel had stated “he was out for blood,” he was going to Calvette's home, and that he was carrying a pistol.

Sgt. Garrett arrived at the Calvette's residence at 9:54 p.m. There he found Mr. Calvette, his girlfriend, April Norrod, and four others. Several of those present informed Sgt. Garrett that they had been in a truck, and had seen Mr. Eibel staggering down the road, bleeding from the mouth. Upon stopping to see if they could help, the occupants of the vehicle were asked by Mr. Eibel if they knew of Mr. Calvette's location. They told him they did not, and were instructed by Mr. Eibel to tell Mr. Calvette that he was looking for him. Additionally, Mr. Calvette and his girlfriend told Sgt. Garrett that Mr. Eibel had threatened them both in the past. Ms. Norrod also reported that Mr. Eibel took lithium for a mental condition,⁴ and that she heard Mr. Eibel had assaulted a co-worker because he had called him Ronald, instead of Ron.

With this information, Sgt. Garrett called Judicial Commissioner John Alcorn to see if he thought that Mr. Calvette had enough information to obtain a warrant against Mr. Eibel. Commissioner Alcorn responded that he believed Mr. Calvette did, but that he wanted at least two witnesses from the truck to accompany Mr. Calvette to swear out the warrant. All six occupants at the Calvette residence went to the Overton County Sheriff's Department to obtain a warrant for Mr. Eibel's arrest.

Sgt. Garrett, joined by Overton County Deputy Derek Sidwell who had arrived on scene, remained in the area to see if they could locate Mr. Eibel. Commissioner Alcorn approved a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Eibel for aggravated stalking.

Unable to locate Mr. Eibel, Sgt. Garrett contacted Sheriff W.B. Melton to advise him of the situation, and to request that the Critical Response Unit (“CRU”) ⁵ be activated to serve the arrest warrant. Sheriff Melton advised that CRU members who were then on duty could assist in serving the warrant.

Sheriff Melton, Sgt. Garrett, Chief Deputy John Garrett, and Deputies Sidwell, Michael Tharp, John Mackie, and Stephen Castle met at the intersection of East Fork Road and Peach Stone Lane to develop a plan to serve the warrant. During the meeting, it was decided that Chief Deputy Garrett would lead the entry and hold a ballistic shield to protect the deputies from any possible fire from the residence. The order of entry was then as follows: Deputy Sidwell, Deputy Mackie, Deputy Tharp, Sgt. Garrett, and Chief Deputy Garrett. Sheriff Melton and Deputy Castle were tasked with securing the back and exterior of the home.

Early in the morning on January 1, 2010, officers approached the Eibel residence.⁶ In response to a knock, Mrs. Eibel opened the door, ⁷ was asked if Mr. Eibel was home, and was told that the officers were there to serve a felony arrest warrant on Mr. Eibel.

Mrs. Eibel informed the officers that her husband was asleep, and asked if she could go wake him. Sgt. Garrett told her no, the CRU needed to go in and get him. Ms. Eibel then stepped back from the door, headed towards the kitchen at the back of the house, and gestured to the bedroom immediately to the right of the front door where Mr. Eibel was sleeping.

The bedroom contained a bed that ran parallel to the doorway. At the top of the bed was an attached headboard containing shelves and drawers. In the headboard, Mr. Eibel kept a loaded 9 millimeter Makarov handgun. At the end of the bed was a chest upon that contained two baskets of clothes. On each side of the bed were night stands. A closet was located to the left of the bed, and to the left of that was a chest of drawers with a mirror. On the right side of the doorway to the bedroom, stood a large gun cabinet.

The CRU officers entered the bedroom, but did not turn on the lights. They were, however, carrying flashlights.⁸ Deputy Sidwell entered first, followed by Deputy Mackie, Deputy Tharp, Sgt. Garrett, and Chief Deputy Garrett.⁹ What transpired in the bedroom is something that the parties hotly dispute. Briefly summarized, the accounts of the officers present in the room show the following:

• In an incident report filed shortly after the shooting, Deputy Sidwell reported that Mr. Eibel was shot after he reached into the headboard, swung around with a handgun, and fired it in Deputy Mackie's direction. This turned out not to be the case, as Mr. Eibel never fired a weapon, and Deputy Sidwell conceded as much in his deposition.¹⁰ Deputy Sidwell also stated in his deposition that, as the group proceeded in, he shouted out “Sheriff's Department” at least three times. Upon entering the room, he saw Mr. Eibel reaching into the headboard and “swing out” a handgun, prompting Deputy Sidwell to yell, “he has a weapon.” It was at this point that Deputy Sidwell thought Mr. Eibel had fired, and Deputy Mackie responded with two shots in rapid succession. (Incident Report, Docket No. 31–5 & Docket No. 32–2 Sidwell Depo. at 112–114).

• Deputy Mackie filed an incident report in which he stated that he opened fire after hearing a shot fired. This occurred, he claimed, after he followed Deputy Sidwell into the bedroom. According to Deputy Mackie, he was standing to the left of the bed when he saw Mr. Eibel reach into the headboard and yelled, “don't do it.” Mr. Eibel disregarded the command, pointed his gun, and fired a round, leaving Mackie with no choice but to return fire. Deputy Mackie also claims that he was required to shoot Mr. Eibel a second time when Mr. Eibel again raised is gun. In his deposition, Deputy Mackie claimed that, after he followed Deputy Sidwell into the room, he observed Mr. Eibel roll to his left, reach into the headboard, and retrieve a gun. Deputy Mackie claims that he next told Mr. Eibel, “don't do that,” or words to that effect, and stated that once Mr. Eibel had the gun in his hand he could not have surrendered because “he was drawing down on us.” Later in the same deposition, Mackie testified that he shot Mr. Eibel as he was “in the process of coming around” with the handgun. (Incident Report, Docket No. 31–4 & Docket No. 32–1, Mackie Depo. at 138–147).

• In the incident report prepared by Deputy Tharp after the shooting, he reported that, upon entering the bedroom, he heard Deputy Sidwell yell out that the suspect was going for a gun and that he saw, with the aid of his flashlight, the suspect roll on his back...