UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ CHANA WILEY, │ Plaintiff-Appellant, │ > No. 21-3615 │ v. │ │ CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO; DARREN STEPHENS, │ RICHARD SHAFFNER, and KYLE ANDREWS, in their │ individual and official capacities, │ Defendants-Appellees. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus. No. 2:17-cv-00888—James L. Graham, District Judge.

Decided and Filed: June 2, 2022

Before: SILER, KETHLEDGE, and READLER, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ON BRIEF: John S. Marshall, MARSHALL AND FORMAN LLC, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Michael R. Halloran, CITY OF COLUMBUS DEPARTMENT OF LAW, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellees. _________________

OPINION _________________

SILER, Circuit Judge. Chana Wiley (“Wiley”), as Administratrix for the estate of Jaron Thomas (“Thomas”), appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the City of Columbus and some law enforcement officers, for allegedly using excessive force on Thomas resulting in his death. We AFFIRM. No. 21-3615 Chana Wiley v. City of Columbus Page 2

I.

Factual Background. In 2017 in Columbus, Thomas called 911 requesting medical assistance. He told the dispatcher that he had used cocaine, believed he might be overdosing from cocaine, was hallucinating, that his heart was beating intensely, and that he feared he would be shot. Columbus law enforcement (“CDP”) and Mifflin Township paramedics were dispatched to the address provided by Thomas.

The first officer on the scene, Defendant Officer Chase Pinkerman, arrived five minutes after Thomas’s 911 call. Following Pinkerman, paramedics Kyle Gibson and Joshua Burke arrived nearby and began preparing to administer medical aid once CDP ensured the safety of the scene. When dispatched to a suspected overdose it is customary for law enforcement to secure the scene before paramedics enter and treat the potential patient. Paramedics wait for law enforcement to give them an all clear because going into an overdose situation immediately can be dangerous, particularly when a 911 caller states he has been shot.

Pinkerman approached the door of the residence under the belief that someone inside may be overdosing and/or shot. With his gun drawn Pinkerman knocked on the door and heard what sounded like a male yelling and someone falling down a flight of steps. The door burst open, and Thomas came screaming past Pinkerman from within the house and ran into the front lawn before falling to the ground. When Pinkerman ordered Thomas to stay on the ground and put his hands up, he did not comply. Thomas then stood up, ran toward the street, continued disobeying orders to stop and show his hands, and then fell once more to the ground. He started “violently rolling around and sporadically contorting his body.” Pinkerman was unsure if this was the man that had called 911, but he did think the individual was overdosing on drugs.

At th