Saying the officer had little choice but to shoot, a judge on Friday threw out a federal lawsuit claiming Benton police wrongly shot and killed a suicidal 17-year-old boy in October 2016 while he was moving a gun away from his head.
The lawsuit was filed last summer by the boy's parents, Piper Partridge and Dominic Schweikle.
Partridge had called police the morning of Oct. 17, 2016, to report that her son, Keagan Schweikle, had gone into the woods near their home with a gun, threatening to shoot himself.
She told a 911 dispatcher that the teen wasn't going to hurt anyone but himself; that he was depressed after getting suspended from school earlier that day; and that he was possibly under the influence of prescription cough medicine and marijuana.
Officer Kyle Ellison was among several officers dispatched to the scene and eventually located Keagan Schweikle standing about 45 feet away on a riverbank, facing the river and holding a gun in his right hand, according to Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller's order.
The judge noted that according to the facts that have emerged since the suit was filed, Ellison ordered the boy to show his hands, but Schweikle didn't comply. Then Ellison drew his weapon and again ordered Schweikle to drop his gun.
"Keagan then turned slightly toward the right and pointed the gun at his head. At that point, Ellison repeatedly commanded Keagan to drop the gun," the order said. "As Keagan started moving the gun away from his head, Ellison fired three shots at Keagan. Two shots hit Keagan and killed him within a minute."
Miller said the boy's parents argued that he didn't point the gun at officers or discharge it, and that he was shot as he was pulling the gun away from his head, "seemingly to comply with Ellison's order."
Even if that is precisely what happened, Miller said, "the use of lethal force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances," and the city, Police Chief Kirk Lane and the officers are entitled to qualified immunity in their individual capacities.
Claims brought against them in their official capacities, Miller said, "must be dismissed due to a lack of an underlying constitutional violation."
He said qualified immunity shields an officer from personal liability when he believes that his conduct complies with the law, and that claims of excessive force must be evaluated based on the "totality of the circumstances."
While lethal force may not be used when a suspect poses no immediate threat to an officer or others, "it was objectively reasonable for Ellison to use deadly force given the totality of the circumstances," Miller said.
He wrote, "Keagan was armed, suicidal, possibly under the influence of drugs, not engaging with or responding to the officers, and refusing to comply with repeated orders to drop his weapon. For these reasons, Keagan presented a significant threat of death or serious bodily injury to officers at the scene. ... Keagan could have quickly pointed the gun at Ellison and opened fire almost instantaneously. ... Ellison had a right to protect himself."
The judge also wrote, "It would have been nearly impossible for Ellison to tell whether Keagan was moving the gun away from his head to comply with Ellison's order if he was re-positioning the gun to aim it at the officers. ... Ellison made a split-second decision, under uncertain and evolving circumstances."
While dismissing the federal civil rights claims with prejudice, meaning that they cannot be refiled, Miller dropped claims brought under state law "without prejudice," allowing them to be pursued in state court. Federal judges may consider claims brought under state law as long as there is a federal claim to decide as well.
Partridge said last year that she had feared her son was becoming suicidal and needed help, so she planned to take him to a hospital, but while in the car with him, she realized she had left her purse and insurance card at home. Partridge had first sought treatment for her son at two drug treatment facilities, neither of which could immediately take him.
She said that when she drove home to get her purse, her son called out that he was going for a walk. She said she caught up with him and saw him sitting on a bench near a wooded area, then saw him pull a 9mm pistol out of his pocket and put it to his head, prompting her to call 911.
Metro on 03/10/2018