274 F. Supp. 3d 860
E.D. Wis.2017Background
- Derek Williams, Jr., a 22-year-old arrestee, was chased by MPD officers on July 6, 2011, found hiding in a backyard, handcuffed, and repeatedly complained he "could not breathe." He later was placed in the back of a squad car and became unresponsive; officers delayed calling paramedics and he died early that morning.
- Autopsy protocols evolved: an initial protocol listed death as natural (sickle cell trait/crisis); a later protocol listed homicide, concluding sickling consistent with ante-mortem crisis; experts disagreed on whether the cause/timing of sickling was determinative or indeterminate.
- Plaintiffs (estate and children) sued officers and the City under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (failure to provide medical care under the Fourth Amendment, Monell failure-to-train/code-of-silence theories), and state wrongful-death claims. Defendants moved for summary judgment and to strike certain experts.
- The court denied Defendants’ motions in full (except it dismissed the excessive-force count and one officer), concluding triable issues of fact exist on notice, seriousness, causation, municipal liability, and denied striking the experts (lip-reading, policing-practices, and emergency-care experts admitted).
- The court found evidence supporting Plaintiff’s theories: officers heard (or plausibly avoided hearing) breathing complaints; MPD training previously taught the flawed maxim "if you can talk you can breathe," later changed after this incident; evidence suggested a potential culture of inadequate discipline ("code of silence") in District Five.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Amendment — failure to provide medical care | Officers heard Williams’ complaints and unreasonably delayed/ignored medical aid, causing death | Officers reasonably believed Williams was malingering/out of breath from exertion; no constitutional violation | Denied summary judgment: triable issues of fact on notice, seriousness, and reasonableness (jury question) |
| Causation | Delay in medical response likely prevented survival; experts say earlier paramedic care probably would have saved him | Death caused by sickle cell crisis triggered by flight, drugs, heat, mask — independent of officers’ actions | Denied summary judgment: disputed expert opinions and proximate causation are jury questions |
| Monell — failure to train re: respiratory distress | City trained officers with the flawed rule "if you can talk you can breathe" and failed to correct known deficiencies; pattern of non-discipline/code of silence | City had some first-responder training; could not have anticipated a sickle-cell crisis; no municipal deliberate indifference | Denied summary judgment: sufficient evidence to create jury issues on inadequate training and code of silence/deliberate indifference |
| Qualified immunity | Officers knowingly violated clearly established right to reasonable medical care for arrestees | Officers entitled to immunity because they lacked clear precedent requiring immediate medical response under these circumstances | Denied at summary judgment: controlling precedent makes it beyond debate that intentionally ignoring an arrestee’s severe medical distress violates the Fourth Amendment |
Key Cases Cited
- Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242 (summary judgment standard)
- Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., 509 U.S. 579 (expert admissibility gatekeeping)
- Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (expert testimony may rest on experience)
- Williams v. Rodriguez, 509 F.3d 392 (Seventh Circuit factors for arrestee medical-care claims)
- Ortiz v. City of Chicago, 656 F.3d 523 (refusal to provide medical care to arrestee — summary judgment denied)
- Florek v. Village of Mundelein, 649 F.3d 594 (contrast case where officers sought timely care)
- Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (municipal liability under § 1983)
- City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (failure-to-train deliberate indifference standard)
- Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (qualified immunity standard)
- White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (clearly established law must be particularized)