Bradley Waters, et al. v. City of Altus, et al.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on civil rights violation theories.



At about 8:00 a.m. on September 13, 2019, Officer Thomas Hobbs stopped

Mr. Waters after observing him veer to the side of the road, drive into a curb, and

nearly hit a pole. When Officer Hobbs questioned Mr. Waters about the incident, he

explained that he was sleep deprived and his windshield was foggy. Officer Jacob

Parsons arrived at the scene a few minutes later. Noticing Mr. Waters seemed "off,”

and that his pupils appeared dilated, Officer Parsons asked him, "Do you have any

medical condition or anything?” R. at 45. Mr. Waters responded that he just needed

to sleep. Officer Parsons then asked him whether he was under the influence of

marijuana, and Mr. Waters said, "No. Right now I'm not good to drive. I need to

sleep for two or three hours.” Id. at 46 (emphasis omitted).



Shortly after that exchange, Officer Hobbs asked Mr. Waters to get out of his

car. Mr. Waters attempted to comply but had difficulty walking; he stumbled and

needed to lean against the side of his car for balance. He "appeared confused and

disoriented” as Officer Hobbs questioned him. Id. at 47. At one point, Mr. Waters

told Officer Hobbs, "My left shoulder is killing me.” Id. at 48 (emphasis omitted).

Officer Hobbs asked him multiple times if he needed emergency medical services

("EMS”) and Mr. Waters refused each time, explaining that he just needed to sleep.

A few minutes later, Officer Parsons conducted standard field sobriety tests.

As Mr. Waters struggled to complete the "walk and turn” test, Officer Parsons asked,

"You sure you don't need EMS?” Id. at 51 (emphasis omitted). He again responded,

"I just need to sleep.” Id. Mr. Waters was unable to complete the test and the

officers arrested him. While Officer Hobbs handcuffed Mr. Waters, he asked, "Do

you have a shoulder injury or anything?” Id. at 52. Mr. Waters responded, "My left

shoulder hurts.” Id. (emphasis omitted).



Officer Parsons drove him to the hospital, where his blood was taken and

tested for drugs and alcohol. Before the test results were available, Mr. Waters was

taken to jail and, at 9:15 a.m., he was placed in an interrogation room with a drug

recognition expert ("DRE”). A minute later, he collapsed. The DRE quickly

administered chest compressions; EMS personnel took over several minutes later and

brought him back to the hospital, but Mr. Waters could not be revived. He was

pronounced dead at 10:05 a.m.



The blood test revealed, and the autopsy later confirmed, that Mr. Waters was

not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His cause of death was "atherosclerosis

of the left main artery” (a blockage consistent with cardiac arrest), and

"[h]yperglycemia” (high blood sugar) was "[an]other significant cause.” Id. at 66.

In March 2023, Plaintiffs sued Officers Hobbs, Officer Parsons, and the City

of Altus, Oklahoma.3 They asserted § 1983 claims alleging that the officers

unlawfully arrested Mr. Waters and denied him medical treatment, in violation of his

Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Based on the same facts, Plaintiffs sued

the City of Altus for alleged failure to properly train and supervise the officers.

Defendants moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 12(b)(6) based on qualified immunity.

The district court granted the motion and dismissed the case, reasoning that Plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege the officers violated Mr. Waters’s constitutional rights.



Affirmed