By John Agar
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A woman who
says an Ottawa County sheriff’s deputy used excessive force while breaking her
arm and dislocating her shoulder will share her story with a U.S. District
Court jury beginning Tuesday, April 15.
Leah Allyn Norton filed a
federal lawsuit against Deputy Heather Stille after her humerus bone – the bone
between the shoulder and elbow – was broken during an encounter in a holding
area in Holland District Court in 2010.
Norton, who at the time used a
four-wheel handicap scooter after foot surgery, contends that Stille used
“unnecessary and unreasonable use of the arm bar restraint,” attorney Daniel
Manville wrote in a trial brief.
Stille’s attorney, Douglas Van
Essen, said his client used appropriate restraint methods. He noted that Norton
pleaded no contest to assault, obstruction or resistance of a police officer
for her role in the incident.
The encounter happened Oct. 12,
2010, when Norton was summoned to Holland District Court after failing to show
for jury pick the previous week in a misdemeanor case. Norton said she was
unaware of the hearing.
Judge Susan Jonas held her in
contempt and set bond at $150. She could not pay the bond, so her husband left
to get the money. She was taken to the lockup area.
Norton had a medical walking
boot on her right foot, which she propped on the scooter. Norton, with a
history of bi-polar disorder and panic attacks, said she began having a panic
attack when the judge held her in contempt.
Stille began the intake
process.
Norton handed over jewelry. She
dropped a piece, but Stille picked it up. Then, she told Stille she was having
a panic attack, and needed a minute. She said she needed to blow her nose, and
reached for a piece of toilet paper that Stille took away. She gave her a paper
towel to blow her nose.
Norton then asked for a drink
of water. Stille said no, the complaint contends. Norton’s attorney said his
client then reached for a three-quarter full bottle of pop on a nearby desk,
and picked it up with her left hand. Stille grabbed it back with her right. The
bottle dropped when the deputy grabbed Norton’s wrist.
When Ms. Norton came to her arm
was (visibly) hanging limp at her side and (she) was screaming in agony - Leah
Norton's attorney
Stille then used an arm-bar
restraint and pushed Norton against a wall. Both sides agree that Norton
suffered a broken arm after the initial restraint. Then, both heard a sound
during a takedown, Norton’s shoulder dislocating.
Norton was unconscious on the
ground for several minutes, her attorney said.
“When Ms. Norton came to her
arm was (visibly) hanging limp at her side and (she) was screaming in agony.”
Norton contends she heard Stille
call her a “psycho ...” and that she was “just faking it," allegations
Stille denies.
Norton went to the hospital via
ambulance. Later, she had a 12-inch brace with 11 screws placed into her arm.
“Here, defendant used more
force than reasonably necessary to control plaintiff in the booking area,
Manville wrote. “Plaintiff was an older woman (58) with one foot on a medical
scooter who was only marginally taller and heavier than the defendant.”
Norton was 5-foot-4 and 130
pounds. Stille was 5-foot-2, 105 pounds.
Stille contends Norton didn’t
tell her she was having a panic attack. She said that Norton called her a name,
raised the bottle in a threatening manner and said, “What are you going to do
about it, little one?”
Van Essen, the deputy’s
attorney, said his client used the “lowest level of force.”
“Regardless of whether the
bottle was in Ms. Norton’s possession, Deputy Stille had the right to handcuff
a resisting inmate who had also committed a felony of resisting/obstructing
against her resulting in a physical struggle,” he said.
He said Stille stabilized
Norton’s arm until another deputy arrived, and asked for an ambulance. She said
that “Norton never lost consciousness but was verbally abusive until removed
from the courthouse,” Van Essen said in court documents.
