Police chief, city manager dropped from federal lawsuit over fatal Raleigh taser incident

A federal judge has dropped Raleigh’s city manager and police chief from a lawsuit tied to the 2023 death of a suspect stunned six times by a taser during his arrest. The lawsuit continues against five police officers and the city.

US District Judge James Dever issued an order Friday dismissing complaints against City Manager Marchell Adams-David and now-retired Police Chief Estella Patterson. Dever’s order also rejected a portion of the lawsuit labeling Raleigh’s use-of-force policy unconstitutional.

But Dever will allow the suspect’s mother, Sonya Williams, to move forward with her complaint that Raleigh failed to train officers properly.

The suit stemmed from a Jan. 17, 2023, incident involving Darryl Tyree Williams. Police ordered Williams to get out of his parked car after spotting what appeared to be marijuana on his lap. Police frisked and searched Williams and found more possible evidence of illegal drugs, according to the court order.

Williams fled when police tried to arrest him, according to Dever’s order. Officers caught up to him and tased him twice. He fell down but recovered and fled again. Caught and tased a third time, he fell again.

After catching and pinning Williams, officers tased him a fourth time. He pleaded not to be tased a fifth time, citing heart problems. Yet officers applied the taser again. “After the fifth Taser application, Mr. Williams screamed in pain and then fell silent, losing consciousness,” Dever wrote.

While Williams was “unresponsive,” officers handcuffed him. During “or soon after” the process of handcuffing Williams, officers used the taser a sixth time.

Williams died at a hospital roughly an hour later. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide caused by “cardiac arrest in the setting of cocaine intoxication, physical exertion, conducted energy weapon use, and physical restraint,” Dever wrote.

Dever’s order dropped the city manager and police chief from Sonya Williams’ lawsuit filed in March 2024.

“Plaintiff fails to plausibly allege that Patterson and Adams-David had actual knowledge that the officer defendants were ‘engaged in conduct that posed a pervasive and unreasonable risk of constitutional injury to citizens like [Williams],’” the judge explained. “Plaintiff alleges that Patterson and Adams-David ‘’knew or reasonably should have known, participated in, condoned, and/or ratified’ the officer defendants’ alleged unlawful taser deployments and failures to intervene. Plaintiff, however, fails to plausibly allege how Patterson or Adams-David had actual knowledge that the officer defendants were ‘engaged’ or would engage in the alleged misconduct.”

“Plaintiff also fails to plausibly allege deliberate indifference,” Dever added. “Plaintiff alleges that Patterson and Adams-David trained, endorsed, or condoned the officer defendants alleged misconduct. Plaintiff, however, fails to plausibly allege that Patterson and Adams-David failed to act ‘in the face of documented widespread abuses.’”

Dever rejected the lawsuit’s argument that Raleigh’s use-of-force policy is unconstitutional.

“Raleigh’s use of force policy authorizes an officer to use a taser to ‘gain physical control or positional advantage’ over a resisting suspect,” he wrote. “Raleigh’s use of force policy also explicitly forbids using a taser in response to a suspect’s ‘passive resistance, which is defined as simple non-compliance to a lawful command.’ Moreover, Raleigh’s use of force policy states that passive resistance includes ‘’physical resistance which does not pose an imminent threat of assault or indicate escalating aggression.’”

That policy “comports with” court precedent and the Fourth Amendment, Dever determined.

“As for plaintiff’s failure to train theory, plaintiff alleges: (1) that latent deficiencies in Raleigh’s use of force policy were passed on to officers trained under those policies, (2) that Raleigh knew of past accusations of excessive force against [officer Christopher] Robinson and still allowed him to train other officers, including [officer Jeremiah] Thomas, (3) that Thomas and Robinson lacked sufficient training hours regarding tasers, and (4) that Raleigh knew of training deficiencies but failed to remediate them,” Dever wrote. “Plaintiff plausibly alleges facts that, if true, state a claim for relief.”

“Whether plaintiff’s claim will survive a motion for summary judgment is an issue for another day,” Dever added.

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