Supreme Court Revives Wrongful Death Suit Against St. Louis Police

 By Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The Supreme Court took a harder line against police misconduct Monday, ordering a lower court to reconsider whether St. Louis officers used excessive force in 2015 when kneeling on a shackled suspect who later died."

"In the excessive-force case, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis had dismissed a lawsuit filed by Nicholas Gilbert’s parents, concluding that the officers acted reasonably after finding Mr. Gilbert apparently attempting to hang himself while in a holding cell.

Several officers responded, but Mr. Gilbert, 5’3” and 160 pounds, resisted, and a struggle ensued. Ultimately, officers shackled Mr. Gilbert and held him on his stomach.

“Three officers held Gilbert’s limbs down at the shoulders, biceps, and legs. At least one other placed pressure on Gilbert’s back and torso. Gilbert tried to raise his chest, saying, ‘It hurts. Stop,’” the court’s unsigned opinion said.

Mr. Gilbert stopped struggling after 15 minutes and his breathing became abnormal. Officers couldn’t find a pulse, the court said.

Mr. Gilbert, who was white, died in a manner foreshadowing the killing of George Floyd, a Black suspect who died after Minneapolis police officer Derrick Chauvin knelt on his back for nearly 10 minutes in May 2020. Last week, a Minnesota state judge sentenced Mr. Chauvin to 22 ½ years imprisonment in Mr. Floyd’s murder. In March, the city of Minneapolis agreed to settle a lawsuit with Mr. Floyd’s family for $27 million."

"In 2019, a federal magistrate judge dismissed the Gilbert family’s lawsuit, finding that the St. Louis officers enjoyed qualified immunity, a doctrine that insulates officers from liability unless their alleged misconduct violates clearly established constitutional rights.

The Eighth Circuit went a step further, declaring that the officers’ actions were permissible responses to Mr. Gilbert’s behavior.

The Supreme Court ordered the Eighth Circuit to reconsider its ruling, because it was “unclear whether the court thought the use of a prone restraint—no matter the kind, intensity, duration, or surrounding circumstances—is per se constitutional so long as an individual appears to resist officers’ efforts to subdue him.”

Mr. Gilbert, who was 27 years old, had been arrested for trespassing in an abandoned building and failing to appear in response to a traffic ticket. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, dissented, saying that if the Supreme Court was unwilling to let the Eighth Circuit decision stand, it should have taken the case itself rather than send it back for further proceedings. (Lombardo v. St. Louis)"

Murder Conviction in George Floyd Case Draws Attention to Dallas Death

Tony Timpa died after police knelt on his back for 14 minutes; his family is appealing a dismissal of its wrongful-death lawsuit

By Jacob Gershman of The WSJ.

"Four years before the death of George Floyd, a 32-year-old man named Tony Timpa died after a Dallas police officer knelt on his back and shoulders for more than 14 minutes in an encounter captured on body-camera footage."

"In November 2016, Mr. Timpa’s family sued the Dallas officers involved in the encounter, claiming they asphyxiated Mr. Timpa, who had a history of mental troubles and was unarmed, handcuffed and barefoot during a struggle with police. He stopped moving minutes before the officer got off him, the footage shows.

A federal judge in Texas ruled last summer that the force used against Mr. Timpa wasn’t deadly or clearly excessive, dismissing the suit. Mr. Timpa’s family appealed to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has yet to rule. A grand jury indicted three Dallas police officers in Mr. Timpa’s death, but prosecutors declined to pursue charges."

"“The murder of George Floyd and the Chauvin trial and conviction will undoubtedly have ripple effects in courts in the Fifth Circuit and elsewhere,” said Joanna Schwartz, a University of California, Los Angeles law professor who researched the Timpa case for a book about police litigation.city attorneys have argued that the officer who knelt on Mr. Timpa, and others at the scene, didn’t act unreasonably. The city says the knee-on-back restraint was safe and justified by Mr. Timpa’s initial resistance.

“Although Timpa’s death was tragic, it did not result from an unconstitutional use of force,” the office said in a brief to the appeals court."

"Mr. Timpa’s family’s lawyer said the prolonged restraint was unnecessary and deadly—particularly in the last minutes of the restraint when he wasn’t moving."

"Prof. Schwartz said the officers’ conduct was similar in the Floyd and Timpa cases, but with important contextual differences, including the two men’s race—Mr. Floyd was Black, Mr. Timpa white—and the viral nature of the video depicting Mr. Floyd’s death."

"The Aug. 10, 2016, incident unfolded in an industrial stretch of northwest Dallas, beginning with a 911 call placed by Mr. Timpa himself.

He told an emergency dispatcher that he had schizophrenia and was off his medication. He then darted into a six-lane road and attempted to climb onto a bus, according to court records. When police arrived, private security guards had handcuffed him near a bus stop."

"In police body-camera footage submitted as evidence, Mr. Timpa can be seen rolling near the curb, kicking his bare feet and screaming. Police tried to calm him, but he kept thrashing. Officer Dustin Dillard is seen turning him on his stomach and kneeling on his back for 14 minutes, at times applying both knees.

Mr. Timpa said “help me” repeatedly before going quiet and still, with Mr. Dillard’s restraint persisting for about another three minutes, the video showed.

The officers, who said they thought Mr. Timpa was snoring, can also be heard making jokes and laughing, pretending he was a snoozing child late for school. The plaintiffs stated in court documents that the snoring sound was Mr. Timpa gasping for air.

Later, with Mr. Timpa on a stretcher, Mr. Dillard is heard saying: “I hope I didn’t kill him.” Paramedics told the officers he wasn’t breathing."