74-year-old man sues Livingston County Sheriff’s Office over alleged excessive force during stroke
A 74-year-old man is suing the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office for excessive force while he had a stroke.
The lawsuit for excessive force and gross negligence is being filed against the county Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant Kendall Kretzschmer, Deputy Ryan Tibbetts and Deputy Bryan Uzoni in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division.
Gregg Kidney, a 74-year-old Petersburg man, suffered a stroke while driving home on July 6, 2024 when he was pulled over by Tibbetts and Uzoni for allegedly swerving on the highway.
According to the suit, Kidney told deputies he was suffering from groin pain and high blood pressure, he also told them his blood pressure medication was on the passenger seat. The deputies then accused him of being intoxicated and asked him to get out of the car, he told officers he could not move.
Instead of treating the stop as a medical emergency, deputies accused him of being under the influence and ordered him out of the vehicle, according to the complaint as reported by Metro Times.
According to the suit, deputies forcibly removed Kidney from the vehicle, threw him to the ground, handcuffed him, pinned him for about 30 minutes and tried to perform a field sobriety test even though he could not stand without help.
The incident was captured on a deputy’s dashcam.
Kidney was convulsing and had urinated on himself while suffering a stroke. He was eventually taken to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi, where doctors performed emergency brain surgery after diagnosing a right basal ganglia intracerebral hemorrhage.
Kidney spent weeks hospitalized and required inpatient rehabilitation and at-home care. The complaint alleges injuries including left-sided paralysis or weakness, cognitive impairment, memory problems, dysphagia, respiratory failure requiring intubation, kidney injury progressing to chronic kidney disease, depression and permanent neurological deficits.
The lawsuit is currently pending and no allegations have been proven.
Governmental immunity
Police misconduct can be a complex issue when it comes to protecting rights because governmental immunity may limit state-law claims. Michigan law generally gives governmental agencies broad immunity when they are performing governmental functions, with limited statutory exceptions.
Federal civil rights claims are different. Under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, a person may sue state or local officials who violate a person’s federal rights while acting under government authority.
A city or county is not automatically liable for an officer’s conduct. Liability usually requires a policy, custom or failure to train.
The Fourth Amendment protects a person’s rights during traffic stops, detentions or arrests. The determining factor in cases like these is often what officers knew at the time, whether the person posed an immediate threat, whether the person resisted or tried to flee, what force was used and what the available records show.
Medical emergency allegations can make evidence preservation especially important. Evidence such as footage of the incident, dispatch audio, EMS records, medical records, use-of-force reports, supervisor notes and training or policy records can all have an impact.
Stroke symptoms can include confusion, slurred speech, weakness, loss of balance and difficulty following commands. In an excessive-force case, those facts may matter because courts review what officers knew, what they observed and whether their response was reasonable under the circumstances.
Michigan Legal Center can help you understand how these claims are reviewed, see our guide to Michigan excessive-force claims and our civil rights practice pages.
Get help from Michigan Legal Center
Michigan Legal Center is the Law Offices of Christopher J. Trainor & Associates. Our attorneys review Michigan police misconduct, excessive force and civil-rights cases involving traffic stops, arrests, detentions, jail incidents and government misconduct.
If you or a family member were injured during a police encounter in Michigan, call Michigan Legal Center at (248) 886-8650 or contact us for a free consultation.
There is no attorney fee unless money is recovered for you. Case costs and fee terms are governed by the written fee agreement.