The Fort Wayne Police Department command team that made the decision to end a 2005 standoff that resulted in the death of Rudy Escobedo was cleared by a jury in mid-February.
Last week, though, U.S. District Judge Theresa Springmann -- who, during that nine-day trial, took under advisement a request of a directed verdict, though she allowed the matter to proceed to a jury -- filed an opinion that affirmed the command team was actually entitled to qualified immunity. That is meant to allow responders to act and not face legal jeopardy in a situation like a standoff, where the outcome is not predetermined and could lead to a fatality.
Springmann filed the 33-page opinion Friday, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court. It means the command team, composed of Deputy Chief Martin Bender, Lt. Kevin Hunter, Lt. Kevin Zelt and retired Deputy Chief Doug Lucker, were not only found not to have violated Escobedo's 4th Amendment right to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure by a jury, but that they were actually immune from prosecution in the first place. The four were sued by Escobedo's estate.
Springmann, during February's trial, had already released four other members of the police department -- Scott Straub, Brian Martin, Jason Brown and Tim Selvia -- from the case after ruling the plaintiff did not prove excessive force was used when they entered Escobedo's apartment July 19, 2005.
Those four officers were members of the police department's Emergency Services Team. They were ordered to enter the Westberry Apartments, where Escobedo lived, and they used tear gas and what are known as "flash-bang" grenades, which are meant to disorient subjects, after Escobedo refused to leave the apartment after calling 911 hours earlier.
Escobedo told police he was high on cocaine -- toxicology reports conducted later confirmed that was true -- and that he was considering killing himself. Escobedo was also armed with a handgun, and he was shot and killed after making a motion to point the weapon at officers.
Springmann analyzed the court case in full in her opinion, including testimony excerpts and explaining the standards that have to be met for a summary judgment to be made before concluding simply:
"On the basis of qualified immunity, the court grants the defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law," directing the clerk to enter that judgment in the civil procedure.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
