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The Police Kill Man During Drug-Induced Psychosis
This story is one in an ongoing series of articles from different parts of the country. Previous stories include this case from Massachusetts, a story out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and one from Pinehurst, North Carolina.
In Columbus, Ohio, a police officer used a taser to subdue Patrick Hagans, a middle-aged man undone by cocaine. Patrick Hagans spent the early morning hours of May 13, 2007, smoking crack with his girlfriend. Around 5:30 a.m., Hagans became paranoid and locked himself in the bathroom, telling his girlfriend that “people were after him.”
Hagans broke the bathroom window, climbed out the window, and ran around the yard screaming, waking up the neighbor. Richard Bogard saw Hagans kicking chairs around his deck and jumping on top of cars in his driveway. Bogard called the police, and the dispatcher classified it as an “unknown disturbance.”
Officer Nelson Frantz arrived first at 5:42 a.m., and a shirtless Hagans came running toward him. The cop ordered Hagans to stop, but Hagans bolted for the backyard, and Frantz gave chase. Frantz shot pepper spray on Hagans back, which did… nothing.
Hagans raced back to the front of the house where he encountered Officer Troy Hughes, who had just arrived. Hagans ran to Hugh’s cruiser and began yanking on the locked door. When Hagans refused Hughes’ command to stop, Hughes grabbed Hagans by the waist and wrestled him to the pavement. Frantz “joined the scuffle and tried to subdue Hagans as well.” Hagans refused to be handcuffed. He lay down on the pavement and locked his arms tightly under his body, kicking his feet and continuing to scream. What Hagans needed was medical attention.
A third cop, Jason Ratcliff, approached and unholstered his taser and applied it in drive-stun mode, pressing the taser directly against Hagans’ upper back. Hagans was unfazed and reached back to grab the taser. Ratcliff applied the taser several times unsuccessfully. Ultimately all three officers managed to handcuff and shackle the legs of Hagans.
Finally, and too late, a medical squad arrived. Hagans had lost consciousness and stopped breathing about ten minutes later. Hagans never regained consciousness and died after three days. The coroner found the cocaine starved Hagans’ brain of oxygen, leading to fatal respiratory complications. The coroner also found that the hardening of the arteries was a contributing factor. The Hagans’ estate found a doctor who opined that the tasing was a substantial contributing factor to Hagans’ death.
In August 2008, Hagans’ estate filed this suit in Ohio state court against the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and Officer Ratcliff. Hagans’ estate alleged that Ratcliff used excessive force by tasing him repeatedly in violation of the Fourth Amendment and Ohio’s assault and battery laws. The sheriff’s department and Ratcliff removed the case to the Federal Court. After discovery, on summary judgment, the district court ruled in favor of Hagans. It refused to apply qualified immunity preventing police from being sued for reasonable conduct in the line of duty. This appeal followed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed and ruled in favor of the system. The Court noted that Hagans conceded that he was actively resisting arrest, but Hagans argued that Ratcliff’s decision to employ the taser was still unreasonable. He also conceded that Hagans was on the ground, surrounded by three officers, and therefore he did not risk getting away. Radcliff testified that he did not see Hagans land any kicks or punches on the other officers. The other officers did not appear to be injured or bleeding. Radcliff did not hear Hagans make any threats. All Radcliff knew was that Hagans had committed an “unknown disturbance.”
“For the reasons just given, Officer Ratcliff did not violate established law when he tried — unsuccessfully, it turns out — to subdue Hagans with the taser. Tragic though Hagans’ death assuredly is, that regrettable fact cannot transform the state of the law in May 2007, and it cannot alter our duty to grant qualified immunity when an officer has not violated established law.”
To hold the Sheriff’s Office liable, Hagans must show that its “failure to train” officers on the proper use of tasers “amounts to deliberate indifference.” Again, Hagans could not do so.
The Court concluded, “Tragic though Hagans’ death assuredly is, that regrettable fact cannot transform the state of the law in May 2007, and it cannot alter our duty to grant qualified immunity when an officer has not violated established law.” Another Court salutes law enforcement and lets another killing of the mentally ill stand.
The case is Patricia Hagans v. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, et al., Case №11–3648, 695 F.3d 505 (6th Cir. 2012).
