Judge rules in favor of officers in wrongful death suit

By TONY FYFFE

BSN Editor

PAINTSVILLE — A lawsuit stemming from an incident in which a Johnson County man died after being tased by police in 2020 ended Monday when a judge ruled in favor of the officers.

In separate orders, Johnson Circuit Judge John David Preston granted summary judgment to the Paintsville Police Department and officers Zachary Stapleton and Shane Cantrell along with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and deputy Jeff Tabor.

Paula Haney, as personal representative of the estate of Donald Prater Jr., filed a lawsuit in 2021 claiming battery, wrongful death, excessive force, negligence, and negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision in Prater’s death on April 17, 2020.

On that date, the Paintsville Fire Department and EMS received a call about a man sitting on the front porch of an abandoned house in Thelma. When they arrived, EMTs found Prater on the porch wearing a T-shirt but naked from the waist down, according to court documents, and he was also covered in mud and blood.

Prater was taken to Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center, where Tabor spoke with him at his bedside, Preston said in his orders.

“Mr. Prater told Deputy Tabor he had consumed methamphetamine,:” Preston said in his orders. “Mr. Prater reported that he believed he had been hit by a train and his soul had been sucked out of him. Officer Tabor left the hospital after the emergency room doctors advised they would complete a toxicology screen and CT scans.”

Later in the evening, the local dispatch received a call that Prater had “ripped a phone off the wall, left the hospital through the hospital’s back door, and was still naked from the waist down,” Preston said.

Stapleton and Cantrell arrived at the hospital and were told that Prater went toward the Ramada hotel, which is located across from the medical center.

Tabor also found out that Prater had left the hospital and went to the scene to assist, Preston said, and he and the other officers later discovered that Prater had been at the hotel and left. Dispatch later received a call that Prater was walking on Main Street, where officers went.

“Although the Plaintiff apparently disbelieves the Defendants' testimony about what happened next, the evidence of record shows the following sequence of events,” Preston wrote in his order. “Officer Cantrell arrived on Main Street, saw Mr. Prater, and was the first to make contact with him. Officer Cantrell asked Mr. Prater his name and what was going on; in response, Mr. Prater yelled incoherently and cursed at Officer Cantrell. Officer Stapleton arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and asked Mr. Prater similar questions. Mr. Prater started to yell and curse at Officer Stapleton. Mr. Prater then charged at Officer Stapleton, (who) un-holstered his TASER and verbally directed Mr. Prater to stop. Mr. Prater continued to rush toward Officer Stapleton; as a result, Officer Stapleton deployed his TASER and it struck Mr. Prater in his abdomen. Mr. Prater was able to rip out the probes before beginning to run up Main Street.

“Officers Stapleton and Cantrell followed. Mr. Prater turned around and rushed toward Officer Cantrell. Officer Stapleton used his pepper spray on Mr. Prater at that point, but it had no apparent effect on Mr. Prater.

“Next, Officer Stapleton attempted to subdue Mr. Prater by using his baton and striking the back of Mr. Prater's right thigh. At approximately that same time, Officer Tabor arrived on scene and brought Mr. Prater to the ground by grabbing him from behind. Although Mr. Prater was on the ground, he had both ofhis arms under his chest and was refusing to move them presumably so he could avoid being placed in handcuffs. Deputy Tabor used the "dry stun" feature of his TASER on the back of each of Mr. Prater's thighs so he could attempt to get Mr. Prater's arms out from under Mr. Prater's torso and handcuff him. Mr. Prater then began reaching for Deputy Tabor's TASER in order to take it away from Deputy Tabor; however, before Mr. Prater could get the TASER, Officer Stapleton was able to secure Mr. Prater's left arm.”

As officers worked to handcuff Prater, then-Paintsville Fire Chief Rick Ratliff and his wife arrived on the scene, and Ratliff assisted the officers in subduing Prater, Preston’s order said.

“Once Mr. Prater was in handcuffs, the Officers stood up to catch their breath,” Preston wrote. “Chief Ratliff, who was watching Mr. Prater, noticed Mr. Prater's breathing became shallow. Chief Ratliff immediately retrieved his pocket mask from his vehicle and started rescue breathing and monitoring Mr. Prater's pulse. EMS was called, and, around the same time, Chief Ratliff could not find Mr. Prater's pulse. CPR was started immediately and continued until the ambulance arrived, at which time Mr. Prater was taken back to Paul B. Hall Hospital. After Mr. Prater arrived at the hospital, additional life-saving measures were taken by the emergency department staff. However, Mr. Prater was pronounced dead some 30 minutes after his second arrival.”

Hospital records and the state medical examiner’s report concluded that Prater died due to excited delirium syndrome, Preston said. The attending physician at Paul B. Hall concluded that Prater died of cardiac arrest brought on by excited delirium, Preston said, but did not note that any injuries contributed to the altercation as being factors in his death.

The state medical examiner noted Stapleton’s Taser deployment and baton strikes on Prater’s body but concluded “no lethel trauma” contributed to his death, Preston said.

Preston ruled that the use of force by Stapleton and Cantrell against Prater was “reasonable, not excessive, and performed in good faith” and that they did not cause his death.

“There is no proof that Officers Stapleton and/or Cantrell caused the death of Mr. Prater,” Preston wrote. “The Kentucky State Medical Examiner Or. Meredith Frame concluded the force used against Mr. Prater did not contribute in any way to his death. Likewise, as stated above, the actions by Stapleton and Cantrell were not wrongful or negligent. Therefore, they did not cause Mr. Prater's death by wrongful or negligent acts. Accordingly, this claim fails.”

In a separate opinion and order, the judge said that the “undisputed facts of this case fail to show that Deputy Tabor lacked good faith or had an improper motive in the actions taken.”

In his orders, Preston granted summary judgment to the police department, Stapleton and Cantrell as well as the sheriff’s office and Tabor.