Anna Cardall saw her husband's seemingly lifeless body on the side of a southern Utah highway in 2009 and had one question for two Hurricane police officers at the scene, including the officer who twice fired a Taser gun at her 32-year-old husband during a bipolar manic episode.
Was Brian Cardall going to be OK?
Hurricane Police Chief Lynn Excell and Officer Ken Thompson, who shot Brian Cardall with the Taser, didn't give Anna Cardall a response. Instead, they ordered her to return to her vehicle, preventing her from helping her husband. The officers also did not render aid to Cardall before paramedics arrived, which may have contributed to Cardall's death on June 9, 2009, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against Hurricane police in federal court by Brian Cardall's family.
A federal judge is deciding if the federal lawsuit filed by Cardall's family should move forward in U.S. District Court.
Anna Cardall, her daughters, Ava and Bella Cardall, and Brian Cardall's parents, Duane and Margaret Cardall, are listed as plaintiffs. The suit names Thompson, Excell, and the City of Hurricane as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges the actions of Thompson and Excell resulted in willful misconduct, wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress and the deprivation of constitutional rights.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups heard arguments for summary judgment in the case. The hearing allowed attorneys to debate whether there are enough facts tied to certain claims in the Cardalls' suit to allow the case to move forward. Waddoups took the arguments under advisement and will issue a decision at a later date.
Peter Stirba, a Salt Lake City attorney who has represented Hurricane during the Cardall case, argued his clients never intended to fatally harm Cardall and were trying their best to handle the situation after 911 calls reported Cardall was nude and running erratically into traffic.
Stirba said evidence shows the officers acted in accordance with how they are trained. He cited an Institute of Justice study that has found Taser deployment lowers injuries for both officers and suspects they are pursuing, compared to using other force options such as tackling or a baton.
"It was clearly appropriate for them to do what they did under the circumstances," Stirba said, calling Cardall an "out of control, mentally ill gentleman who was not complying with officers." He called the Cardall's claim "constitutionally deficient."
Karra Porter, the attorney for the Cardalls, argued the department was negligent with its use of force policies, which were vague. She also argued Cardall's rights were violated when he was handcuffed after being shocked by the Taser and that law enforcement did not act quickly enough when Cardall stopped breathing on the side of the road.
She said a jury could classify law enforcement's behavior as "willful misconduct."
The Cardall's lawsuit alleges police could have contained Brian Cardall differently. The complaint alleges several missteps made by Thompson and Excell at the scene including that:
» Thompson deployed a Taser 42 seconds after arriving at the scene, despite information from a 911 dispatcher that Cardall was bipolar and had taken medication and was waiting for it to take effect. Dispatchers told officers that Cardall spoke of meeting the president and was going in the road and jumping in front of cars -- indications of mental illness.
» Thompson and Excell responded to the scene, despite the fact that the incident was outside of Hurricane city limits and should have been handled by Washington County deputies, who were en route at the time Thompson used his Taser.
» When Thompson arrived at the scene, the 156-pound Cardall, nude and unarmed, was no longer running in the road. Thompson drew his Taser immediately and began shouting commands, without ever trying to engage Cardall in a conversation to defuse the situation. When Thompson yelled "come here," Cardall put his hands in the air by his head.
» Cardall took a step toward Excell and then a step back toward his wife, and then steps toward Thompson without ever aggressively moving toward anyone.
» Thompson and Excell did not make any efforts to take Cardall into custody after he was shot with a Taser once and remained on the ground. Cardall was breathing and moaning after the first Taser cycle. Thompson waited only two seconds before firing a second shot at Cardall and Excell then rolled Cardall face down in the gravel and handcuffed him.
» Thompson did not use a can of pepper spray as a first method of force. Neither officer tried to use their hands to restrain Cardall.
» Thompson and Excell did not render aid to Cardall before paramedics arrived, although the man appeared not to be breathing. They did not evaluate Cardall's airway or turn him on his side so he could breathe more easily. Cardall was left handcuffed.
» Police took a pregnant Anna Cardall into custody. They demanded she drive her vehicle to the Hurricane jail, where she sat in an interrogation room as her husband lay in an ambulance. Although she was not a suspect in any crime, police refused to let her leave the jail, even to get a clean diaper for her 2-year-old daughter, according to the lawsuit. Anna Cardall also was not allowed to go to Dixie Regional Hospital in St. George to be with her husband, who was pronounced dead after about an hour of resuscitation efforts at the hospital. Police officers came into the interrogation room to inform her that Brian Cardall had died.
Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap, who reviewed findings by the Washington County Critical Incident Task Force, announced in November 2009 that Thompson was justified in using force on Cardall. Belnap's statement said Thompson's decision to deploy the Taser was legal under Utah law and the Hurricane Police Department's use-of-force policy. Stirba has previously said Belnap's decision vindicates his clients.
Several members of the Cardall family as well as Hurricane police officers and their families attended Thursday's hearing before Waddoups.
Two years ago, Brian Layton Cardall, 32, earned a prestigious fellowship to conduct research for a doctorate degree in biological sciences at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
His dreams of embarking on a career in science were cut short on the side of a southern Utah highway, when a Hurricane police officer deployed a Taser on Cardall as the man experienced a bipolar episode. Cardall's wife, Anna, called 911 to ask for medical help and watched as police instead chose to use a stun gun on her confused husband, who later died.
Since Cardall's death in June 2009, his family has actively campaigned to increase awareness of mental health issues.
Last May, Anna Cardall brought daughters Ava, 4, and Bella, 1, to the state Capitol to celebrate their dad's legacy by observing Gov. Gary Herbert hold a symbolic signing of a resolution that encourages the state's police departments to participate in a program designed to better train officers on how to handle encounters with the mentally ill.
The Cardall family listened as Herbert complimented the family for sharing their story about losing Brian -- and highlighting the need for police forces to have a better understanding of mental illness.
"Out of tragedy comes good things," Herbert said, before signing the resolution known as S.C.R. 1. "Our state is in a better place in many ways because of the Cardall family and their tragedy."
State Sen. Patricia Jones, D-Holladay, introduced the resolution during the last session to endorse the Crisis Intervention Training Academy and the education and training it brings law enforcement. Her resolution, which came after working in conjunction with the Cardall family and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Utah, calls for law enforcement to recognize that the CIT Academy improves the outcomes of police officers' encounters with the mentally ill.
Salt Lake City Detective Ron Bruno, who oversees the academy, has previously said the Brian Cardall case appears to have motivated other police departments to enroll in the program. The Hurricane Police Department is among the agencies that started attending the CIT Academy after Cardall's death.
About 12 percent of Utah's 1,200 law enforcement officers hold CIT certification; more have likely undergone the training but have had their certifications expire, Bruno said. What is summary judgment?
A decision made on the basis of statements and evidence presented for the record without a trial. It is used when it is not necessary to resolve any factual disputes in the case. Summary judgment is granted when -- on the undisputed facts in the record -- one party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Source: www.uscourts.gov
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