Judge Dismisses Charges against Marshall Police, City

MARSHALL — U.S. Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne dismissed charges this week against the city of Marshall, three Marshall police officers, and former police chief Stan Spence, accused of the wrongful death of Marcus Dewayne Slade (pictured). KETK and the Longview News-Journal report Slade, of Marshall, died on Jan. 4, 2013, while in police custody after having been shocked by stun guns. He was 32. Slade’s family filed suit on Dec. 12, 2013, accusing the officers of using excessive force and battery, inflicting bodily injury. Taser International was also named as a defendant in the suit and accused of designing, manufacturing, assembling, marketing, distributing, and selling a defective and unreasonably dangerous product.

Court documents show that over the course of discovery, the plaintiffs, represented by Attorney William Hughey, dismissed the claims against Taser International, along with all state law claims against the city and the officers. But the documents show the plaintiffs elected to proceed only with the wrongful death claims against the city and the officers based on denial of medical care and excessive force.

“In order for the plaintiffs to recover for wrongful death, they not only need to prove a violation of either of the rights discussed above, they must also prove that the violation caused Mr. Slade’s death,” Judge Payne wrote in his memorandum order, which accompanied his judgment.

“Plaintiffs concede that they do not have evidence that either the delay in medical care or any excessive use of force caused Mr. Slade’s death,” Payne wrote. “Plaintiffs also conceded at oral argument that they did not have evidence that the use of Tasers, or any other force, was a cause of Mr. Slade’s death.”

Payne noted that the plaintiffs’ expert witness, Dr. D.G. Edwards, focused instead on the opinion that the defendants deprived Slade of the chance of survival by not taking him immediately to the hospital. “Unfortunately for plaintiffs, that is simply not a viable cause of action in this jurisdiction,” Payne wrote.