LE CENTER, Minn. -- A federal wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a Le Sueur County sheriff's deputy who shot a man to death outside a Kasota apartment building in 2009.
A grand jury decided against filing second-degree murder charges against Todd Waldron after hearing testimony from 21 witnesses in November 2009. Waldron was on duty, but in plain clothes, when he shot 24-year-old Tyler Heilman after confronting him about his driving on July 20, 2009. The shooting was witnessed by several people, including Heilman's friends and one passerby who told investigators Heilman, who was wearing only swim trunks, had Waldron in a choke hold before he was shot.
The lawsuit was filed by Mark Heilman, Tyler Heilman's father. It accuses Waldron of, among other things, violating his son's constitutional protections from unreasonable force. The lawsuit also claims the county is partially responsible because undercover deputies aren't provided with tools, in addition to a handgun, to subdue suspects. Those deputies were also allowed to stop people for minor traffic offenses.
Even though a grand jury didn't find grounds for criminal charges, Mark Heilman's attorney, James Behrenbrinker of Minneapolis, said he believes he has a strong case.
"The grand jury is secret, so I don't know what information was presented to the grand jury and I don't know how it was presented," Behrenbrinker said.
"We believe we have a very strong case. That's why we went forward in federal court. We don't go into court lightly and we didn't do this until we did our own investigation."
He also said the case is only in the beginning stages, and he expects more information to come out after more witnesses are subpoenaed and interviewed. A federal judge will be setting deadlines for that process, as well as the disclosure of documents related to the case, during a pre-trial hearing Oct. 12.
Waldron was in the process of serving a warrant in Kasota when he happened upon an erratic driver, according to the complaint filed by Behrenbrinker. Waldron, who was driving an unmarked vehicle, called for backup from a deputy in a marked squad car before losing sight of the car as it drove up a grass hill in a park.
Before the second deputy arrived, Waldron confronted Heilman after he found the car parked at an apartment complex.
"Waldron was dressed in plain clothes, a yellow 'polo' type shirt which was loosely tucked into his pants," the complaint said. "Waldron did not identify himself as a police officer nor affirmatively display a deputy sheriff badge to anyone at the scene. Instead, Waldron ran around the SUV toward Heilman and his friends and yelled 'Who the (expletive) is driving this car?'"
Waldron asked for a driver's license and Heilman attempted to walk away. At that point Waldron attempted to put a "wrist lock" hold on Heilman, which failed, the complaint said. Waldron attempted to punch Heilman and missed before taking him to the ground with a bear hug.
The complaint claims Heilman stood up and backed away after Waldron grabbed for his gun. Several shots were fired after that with four shots hitting Heilman. Two bullets also entered an apartment occupied by two children, the complaint said.
In an answer to the complaint, the attorney for Waldron and the county, Jon Iverson of Bloomington, said Heilman was assaulting Waldron before he was shot.
"Heilman spun and got on top of Investigator Waldron and began striking Investigator Waldron's head, saying repeatedly 'mother (expletive),'" Iverson's answer said.
As described by Iverson, Waldron was on his hands and knees and started losing consciousness after Heilman put him in a choke hold. When he saw his gun lying on the ground, Waldron realized he needed to get it before someone else did.
He was still in a choke hold when he fired the first shot into Heilman's stomach or chest area, the answer said. Waldron fired three more times after Heilman stood up.
Iverson's answer also said Heilman shouldn't be allowed to sue Waldron or the county because they are protected by official immunity and the public duty doctrine. It also said "the reasonableness of a particular use of force" should be judged from the officer's perspective, not by the perspective of other witnesses or "based on 20/20 hindsight."
Iverson did not immediately return a telephone call from The Free Press.
Copyright 2011 - The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
