The Akron Legal News

Court finds Columbus police officer not liable in shooting death of suspect

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: June 5, 2014

The 10th District Court of Appeals recently affirmed that a Columbus police officer was statutorily immune from liability after he shot a young man in the line of duty.

The three-judge appellate panel affirmed the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas decision granting summary judgment to Frederick Hannah in a wrongful death case.

The facts of the case state that Don and Elaine Hayes filed suit against the city of Columbus, the Columbus Police Department and Hannah in June 2009.

The complaint included claims for assault, battery, wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from the June 2008 shooting death of their son Edward Hayes.

At the time of the shooting, Hannah was working as a member of the CPD’s Summer Safety Initiative near the east side of the city.

The initiative was an anti-violence program aimed to improve neighborhood safety through increased visibility and enforcement of law, according to case summary.

On the evening of June 6, 2008, two officers in an unmarked vehicle noticed a suspicious car in the parking lot of the Mount Vernon Plaza Apartments, which was a high crime area at the time.

Those officers suggested that uniformed officers investigate the situation and Hannah responded to that request.

When Hannah arrived on the scene, Officer Matthew Baker was in his car with him and the two stopped near the car and shined a spotlight into the interior of the car.

They were able to see four men in the car, including Hayes, his brother, his cousin and a family friend.

It was later discovered that three of the men had firearms in the vehicle.

The group had traveled to Columbus from New Orleans and were allegedly in the apartment complex parking lot to sell some guns.

When the marked police cruiser pulled up, the group said Hayes pushed a gun in his pocket and said “get away from this car as fast as possible.”

The officers witnessed Hayes open his car door, lean down toward his lap, then come upright.

Hannah said that behavior was consistent with a person retrieving a weapon or contraband and the officers chose to approach the car.

As Hannah approached, he said Hayes exited the rear passenger portion of the vehicle and Hannah could see a gun in his hand.

He stated that she clearly shouted “Drop the f****** gun!” three times, but Hayes failed to comply.

Instead, Hayes fled the scene but did not run at full speed. Hannah pursued him but noted the odd behavior.

“Hayes acted much differently than any of the armed suspects Officer Hannah had previously encountered, as he retained his weapon, despite Officer Hannah’s commands, and ran away, but at less than full speed,” case summary states.

According to Hannah’s deposition, the unusual behavior made him “even more apprehensive about what Edward Hayes intended to do.”

Hannah recalled that although the chase began in a well-lit area, Hayes soon headed to a darker area near an apartment building but Hannah could still see the gun.

At one point, Hayes slowed down, looked over his shoulder and turned his gun toward the officer “as if he was trying to get Officer Hannah in his gun sights.”

Hayes did not fire, however, and instead lowered the gun and continued to run.

After he ducked into a dark area near an apartment building, Hannah said Hayes again turned as if to aim the gun at him and Hannah fired his own weapon twice.

The shots struck Hayes in the back. Hannah attempted to roll Hayes over so that his airway was not blocked, but nevertheless he died of his wounds.

Hannah said the entire encounter lasted about 10 seconds.

Backup officers found Hayes’ gun in some nearby bushes and determined that he had discarded the weapon shortly before being shot.

The Franklin County Court of Common Pleas granted Hannah summary judgment and held that “no jury could possibly find that Officer Hannah acted unreasonably or with malicious purpose, in bad faith or in a wanton or reckless manner when he responded to the clear threat by the armed Edward Hayes.”

Hayes’ family appealed that decision to the 10th District.

They conceded on appeal that the only applicable exception to Hannah’s immunity was that his actions were wanton or reckless.

Upon review, the appellate panel maintained that it must determine if the force used to detain Hayes was “objectively reasonable.”

In making that determination, the district court considered all factors of the case.

It found Hannah believed Hayes was aiming a weapon at him and that he believed there was an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.

Hayes’ family argued Hannah knew their son was not armed when he shot him because he told another officer he saw Hayes throw something in the bushes during his pursuit.

“As such, even if Officer Hannah had seen Hayes throw something, Officer Hannah had no way of knowing what it was that Hayes had thrown. In such a situation, Officer Hannah was not obligated to gamble with his own life and guess as to whether Hayes had thrown the gun he was carrying or something else,” Judge John Connor wrote for the court.

Similarly, the family claimed that witness testimony established that Hayes asked Hannah not to shoot him and that Hannah grabbed him after the shooting and turned him over.

The judges ruled that Hannah turning the victim over was not contrary to the officer’s own deposition and ruled that it did not effect his right to statutory immunity.

They also stated Hayes asking the officer not to shoot him did give Hannah a reason to believe he was not armed.

“Moreover, reviewing the totality of the evidence presented in this action, including that Hayes was armed and had pointed the gun in Officer Hannah’s direction during the first part of the foot chase, that Hayes ran from Officer Hannah at less than full speed into a dark area of the apartment complex, and that Officer Hannah shot Hayes when Hayes began to turn towards Officer Hannah in the same manner as he had moments before when he turned his gun towards Officer Hannah, no reasonable juror could conclude that Officer Hannah acted with a malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner when he fired his weapon at Hayes,” Connor stated.

Judges Gary Tyack and William Klatt concurred and affirmed the lower court’s judgment.

The case is cited Hayes v. Columbus, 2014-Ohio-2076.

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