Court upholds finding in suit against police

Officers not at fault for Lahaina man’s heart attack death


A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling in favor of Maui County and three police officers in a lawsuit brought by the family of a man who died while he was being arrested at a Lahaina music studio in 2002.

On April 29, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Senior U.S. District Judge Samuel King’s ruling that Richard Gregory’s death didn’t result from excessive force by police.

“The officers did everything right that evening,” said Deputy Corporation Counsel Laureen Martin, who represented the county and the officers in the case. “They responded quickly to a 911 call for help and used minimal force in trying to control the situation. They never used any weapons or struck Mr. Gregory. They simply tried to handcuff him. Unfortunately, Mr. Gregory refused to follow police direction and chose to struggle with the police which resulted in a heart attack.”

Police officers Edwin Among, Garret Tihada and Nicholas Angell confronted 51-year-old Gregory when they were dispatched to a music studio on Limahana Place in Lahaina after 10:30 p.m. Dec. 2, 2002, based on a report that he was refusing to leave and had pushed someone, according to court records.

Gregory didn’t respond to police requests that he leave and acted aggressively toward the officers while holding a pen in a threatening way, according to documents filed with the court.

While he was struggling as officers attempted to handcuff him, Gregory became unresponsive shortly after he was handcuffed. The officers called medics and tried to revive Gregory.

“The police even tried to save Mr. Gregory’s life by performing CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation,” Martin said. “If the officers had succeeded in saving his life, they would have been heroes, but because their efforts failed they became defendants in a lawsuit. The Ninth Circuit’s decision confirms there was never any merit to this lawsuit and the officers acted appropriately.”

In his February 2006 order, King found that “the officers’ behavior . . . was reasonable in the situation they confronted.”

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, noting that the officers used a “calm tone” with Gregory throughout the confrontation.

While noting that Gregory — the witness most likely to contradict the police statements on the incidents — was dead, the court opinion said, “Here, the evidence does not undermine the officers’ account of their encounter with Gregory.”

“To the contrary, the undisputed evidence supports the officers’ contention that Gregory acted in an aggressive manner, and that he stubbornly refused to comply with the requests of the officers,” the court said. “Medical evidence shows that Gregory died of a heart attack caused at least in part by severely narrowed arteries and marijuana use, rather than from choking or a direct result of force.”

In addition to Martin, the county and the officers were represented by Deputy Corporation Counsels Moana Lutey and Richard Rost and by Honolulu attorney Kenneth Robbins.

Attorneys David Gierlach, David Sereno and Eve Green represented Gregory’s wife, Valerie Gregory, and their children in the lawsuit filed in July 2003.

“The County of Maui will continue to aggressively defend lawsuits which are without merit, such as this one,” Martin said.