Meyers v. Baltimore Cnty.
| Decision Date | 28 September 2011 |
| Docket Number | Civil Case No. L-10-549 |
| Parties | WILLIAM MEYERS, SR., et al. Plaintiffs v. BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND et al. Defendants |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
This case arises out of the tragic death of Ryan Meyers. The Plaintiffs, parents of the decedent, bring suit against the Baltimore County Police Department and three individual Baltimore County Police Officers. Now pending before the Court is the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. Docket No. 33. The issues have been fully briefed, and on July 11, 2011, the Court convened a hearing and received oral argument. For the reasons stated herein, the Court will, by separate Order, GRANT the Motion.
Because the Defendants move for summary judgment, the Court analyzes the facts in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs. Ryan Myers was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 15 and suffered from debilitating mental illness for most of his life. At age 40, Ryan continued to live with his parents, Anna Mae Meyers ("Mrs. Meyers") and William Meyers, Sr. ("Mr. Meyers"), and his brother, William Meyers, Jr. ("Billy Meyers" or "Billy"). At the time of his death, he was under the care of a doctor at Sheppard Pratt, a mental health facility, and wasprescribed two anti-psychotic medications: Seroquel (used to treat schizophrenia), and Lamictal (used to treat bi-polar or manic-depression disorders).
During the previous ten years, the Meyers family had called 911 on five separate occasions to have Ryan, who stood six feet tall and weighed approximately 260 pounds, forcibly detained by the police so that he could be taken for psychiatric evaluation. Two of these incidents led to Ryan's involuntary committal at Sheppard Pratt for 30-day periods.
The events giving rise to this suit occurred on March 16, 2007. At 10:55 p.m., Mrs. Meyers called 911 and reported to the operator that her sons Ryan and Billy were engaged in a fistfight. Mrs. Meyers then ceased communicating with the 911 operator. The telephone line remained open, however, and screaming could be heard in the background. Baltimore County police were immediately dispatched to the Meyers residence.
The first officer on the scene was Vincent Romeo, who arrived to find Billy and Mr. Meyers in the front yard. Mr. Meyers was holding a towel over a cut on his nose. Mrs. Meyers had gone to her daughter's home next door. Officer Romeo could see Ryan inside the house, pacing back and forth while holding a baseball bat.
Billy recounted to Officer Romeo the events surrounding the 911 call: He had heard a commotion in the kitchen, and heard his mother say, Billy Meyers Dep. 6. Billy ran in, immediately punched his brother, and the two began to fight. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers were knocked to the floor amidst the fighting. At some point, Ryan acquired a baseball bat and a barbeque fork, at which point the rest of the family retreated outside the house to wait for the police. Billy informed Officer Romeo that Ryan was bipolar and had "problems upstairs." Id. at 9. According to Billy, Officer Romeo "asked us if [Ryan] hit anybody with thebat, and we said no."1 Id.
Officer Romeo radioed for backup. The first officer to answer his call was Karen Gaedke. Officer Gaedke had arrested Ryan two days previously, following an incident at a Royal Farms convenience store, after which she had taken him to Franklin Square Hospital to get his medication. Because of her relationship with Ryan and her familiarity with his situation, Officer Gadke felt that she might be able to calm him down.
Both Officer Romeo and Officer Gadke talked to Ryan through the front door in an attempt to get him to drop the bat and come out of the house peacefully. Ryan refused, responding only, "You're not my father," and "No, you're going to kill me." Billy Meyers Dep. 12; Romeo Dep. 25. At some point the officers determined that Ryan was not going to exit the house peacefully, and Officer Romeo put in a call for a Taser operator. In response to this call Officer Steven Mee, the Taser operator on duty that night, responded to the scene. While still talking to Ryan, the officers repeatedly attempted to unlock the front using a key that Billy Meyers had given them. 2 Each time, Ryan immediately re-locked the door. At some point two more officers, Andrew Callahan and Michael Zellers, also arrived.
Eventually, Ryan turned his back on the door and began to walk away. This allowed the officers to quickly unlock the door and gain entry to the house. Officer Romeo was the first through the door, followed by Officer Mee. Billy Meyers entered third.
The officers filed into the living room and ordered Ryan to drop the bat. When he turnedto face them but did not immediately drop the bat, Officer Mee deployed his Taser in probe mode, firing the probes into Ryan's torso. 3 Unfortunately, the initial jolt of electricity failed to incapacitate Ryan, who still did not drop the bat. Seconds later, Officer Mee delivered a second cycle of electricity. At this point Ryan dropped the bat, but remained standing. Officer Mee discharged the Taser a third time, at which point Ryan fell to the ground and three officers attempted to subdue and handcuff him.4
The police struggled on the ground with Ryan for approximately two and a half minutes before finally cuffing his hands in front of him and securing a zip tie around his legs. During this time, Officer Mee discharged the Taser in probe mode once more, then removed the probes and used the Taser in stun mode an additional six times.5 The officers contend that Ryan fought them fiercely, kicking, biting, and at one point even regaining control of the baseball bat. Billy Meyers concedes that his brother was struggling with the officers, that they were telling Ryan tostop resisting, and that the altercation lasted between two and three minutes, but describes Ryan's resistance as "moving his legs, like." See Meyers, Jr. Dep. 16, 19, 21, 25.
When Ryan finally relaxed, he appeared to the officers to be unconscious or asleep. Officer Zellers checked for vital signs and verified that Ryan was breathing and had a pulse. The officers then moved Ryan to the center of the living room, where there was more space, and recuffed his hands behind his back. Officer Zellers checked Ryan's pulse again, and found it weaker. At this point an ambulance, which had been dispatched as soon as Officer Mee reported the initial Taser discharge, arrived. The paramedics found that Ryan had gone into cardiac arrest and were unable to revive him.
The Medical Examiner's post-mortem report revealed the cause of death as "cardiac arrythmia [sic] due to cardiomegaly complicated by agitated behavior in association with police restraint." 6 Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 18 at 8. The report stated that "[t]he relative contribution of the heart disease, agitated behavior and restraint methods cannot be determined with certainty . . . ." Id.
Following Ryan's death, his parents brought suit against Baltimore County and Officers Mee, Romeo, and Gadke. The Amended Complaint asserts the following claims: Maryland Survival Act (Count I), Wrongful Death (Count II), Excessive Force in violation of the Fourth Amendment (Count III), Negligent Training and Supervision (Count IV), Violation of Articles 24 and 26 of the Maryland Constitution (Count V), Gross Negligence (Count VI), and Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act (Count VII). 7 On December14, 2010, the Court entered an Order bifurcating the case and reserving litigation of supervisory liability claims against Baltimore County until the issue of the individual officers' liability had been resolved. The Defendants now move for summary judgment as to all counts.
The Court may grant summary judgment when 'the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986); see also Felty v. Graves-Humphreys Co., 818 F.2d 1126, 1128 (4th Cir. 1987) (). Nevertheless, in determining whether there is a genuine issue of material fact, the Court views the facts, and all reasonable inferences to be drawn from them, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Pulliam Inv. Co. v. Cameo Properties, 810 F.2d 1282, 1286 (4th Cir. 1987). Hearsay statements or conclusory statements with no evidentiary basis cannot support or defeat a motion for summary judgment. See Greensboro Prof'l Fire Fighters Ass'n, Local 3157 v. City of Greensboro, 64 F.3d 962, 967 (4th Cir. 1995).
Each of the Plaintiffs' claims rests on the existence of a single underlying wrong, the use of excessive force to effect a seizure in violation of Ryan Meyers's Fourth Amendment rights. The Defendants argue that no constitutional violation occurred and that, even if it did, they are entitled to qualified immunity. The Court will analyze the events of March 16, 2007 in threestages: the officers' determination to seize Ryan, the initial tasings that caused Ryan to drop the baseball bat and fall to the ground, and the struggle and additional tasings that followed. Pursuant to the Supreme Court's decision in Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009), the Court exercises its discretion to use the two-step procedure of Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001), asking first whether a constitutional violation occurred and second whether the right violated was clearly established. If the right was not clearly established, the officers are entitled to qualified immunity notwithstanding the violation. Id. at 200-01. Because the Court finds...
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