NEWS

Attorney: Lawsuit in teen’s fatal shooting ‘very defensible’

Matt Mencarini, and Rachel Greco
Lansing

GRAND RAPIDS - A lawyer representing Eaton County and Sgt. Jonathan Frost in a federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from Frost's fatal shooting of an unarmed teen in February said the case is "very defensible."

James Dyer said Frost didn't violate Deven Guilford's constitutional rights, the traffic stop that preceded the shooting was lawful and Frost's use of deadly force was justified. 

Deven Guilford with his niece and nephews. Guilford was shot and killed by Eaton County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Jonathan Frost in February of 2015.

Dyer's filing Wednesday in U.S. District Court was in response to the lawsuit the Guilfords filed last month.

In it, Dyer said lawyers for the Guilford family failed to prove that their lawsuit was valid and the family isn't entitled to any money.

"Sgt. Frost had a reasonable belief that Deven Guilford intended to inflict death or serious and imminent personal injury to him, creating a justifiable need for the use of force to prevent its occurrence," he wrote. "As a result, the actions taken by Sgt. Frost were objectively reasonable, an appropriate exercise of police authority under Federal and State law, and did not amount to violation of Michigan Law or Plaintiff’s Federal statutory or constitutional rights."

Eaton County does not maintain unconstitutional policies and practices and they did not fail to adequately train Frost, as asserted by the lawsuit, the response said. As a result, it added, the county isn't liable in Guildford's death.

The lawsuit is a "very defensible case," Dyer said in an interview Wednesday. He added that he hasn't asked for authorization to settle with the Guilford family and doesn't plan to, but it's a decision ultimately made by his clients so it remains a possibility.

"I do quite a lot of these cases," he said. "I certainly understand how emotionally charged they are and how tragic they really are for everybody involved. I will never acknowledge or say that the Guilfords didn't suffer a significant loss. But I also haven't represented an officer in one of these shootings that did not also suffer as a result. It works in different ways."

Traffic stop turns deadly

The night of Feb. 28, Frost initialed a traffic stop after Guilford, who was alone, flashed his headlights, thinking Frost's high beam headlights were on. During the traffic stop the two argued about whether Guilford had to show his driver's license and whether Frost's high beams were on. Guilford eventually got out of the car and onto the ground after being ordered to.

Guilford resisted putting his hands behind his back, Frost unsuccessfully deployed his stun gun and the stop turned physical. They ended up in a snow-filled ditch on the side of the road where Frost shot Guilford seven times, he told authorities, because Guilford was able to get on top of him and was hitting him in the head and face.

Frost was cleared by the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Lloyd and the Eaton County Sheriff's Office.

The family's lawsuit alleges that Frost's "entire course of action was illegal and in violation of Deven's constitutional rights.”

It also asserts that "at least three vehicles" flashed their headlights at Frost the night of the stop. Frost stopped all of them, it states, but issued no citations. All three stops were illegal, according to the lawsuit.

Attorneys for Frost and the county denied this allegation in their reply, saying that Guildford was the only person Frost stopped that night for flashing his headlights.

The Eaton County Prosecutor’s Office released this photo officials say shows Sgt. Jonathan Frost’s injuries after the fatal shooting of Deven Guilford.

But that denial conflicts with video footage from Frost's body camera.

Video footage from Frost's body camera shows the officer telling Guilford, "I have been flashed a couple times because these headlights are new. I’ve stopped a couple vehicles tonight and no people have gotten citations.”

Lloyd's report on the shooting also asserts that a driver stopped earlier that night "advised Sgt. Frost that the SUV's headlights were very bright and appeared to him to be on high beam."

Asked about the discrepancy, Dyer said Wednesday that Guilford was the only person Frost stopped for flashing their headlights that night. He added that another driver did flash Frost, but Frost was unable to catch up to the vehicle and didn't pursue it.

Dyer characterized Frost's comments to Guilford as Frost "trying to put Deven Guilford at ease" that if he complied with orders the traffic stop would go well.

The family's lawsuit describes Frost as angry and agitated when he ordered Guilford to produce his driver's license. The response denies that, and argues that Guilford appeared "uncooperative, upset and agitated" toward Frost, according to Dyer's response. The response does not characterize Frost's demeanor during the stop.

Dyer said Frost was professional, and asked Guilford for his license eight times.

"He acted as I would expect a police office to act in that situation," he said. "He was professional. He was firm. He repeatedly asked Deven Guilford for his driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance."

The Guilford family's lawsuit asks for a jury trial but does not seek specific monetary damages.

It alleges that Frost's actions "were carried out as a part of the custom, policies and practices of the Eaton County Sheriff’s Department, which included a failure to train, supervise, discipline or properly instruct its officers in the laws of the State of Michigan regarding flashing headlights, civil infraction traffic stops, arrests, use of force, use of weapons and use of tasers..."

In an interview with the State Journal last month Brian Guilford, Deven’s father, said his son’s death has been a call to action for the family.

"We want to try and do everything we can to see that this doesn’t happen to some other family." Brian said, "that some other family does not go through the same exact thing we are, and we will do all we can to help that come about."

Lawyers for the Guilford family and lawyers for Frost and the county have different interpretations of the U.S. Supreme Court case law regarding officer-involved shootings, Dyer said. He added that the case law bolsters his clients' defense.

"The use of force that occurred was lawful," he said. "That’s the underlying basis for the defense — the use of force was lawful."

Video of the incident, with the exception of the final moments and gunshots, was recorded by Frost’s body camera. Audio of the shooting was captured on Guilford’s cell phone, which was on the ground.

Read a timeline of the traffic stop here.


Trial could be years away

A police evidence photo of the scene after Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd announces in June that no criminal charges will be issued against Eaton County Sheriff's Sgt. Jonathan Frost in the February shooting death of Mulliken teen Deven Guilford after a traffic stop.

Frost was taken to the hospital the night of the incident and released the next morning. He suffered injuries to the face and head but was released hours after arriving at the hospital.

Now that a reply to the lawsuit has been filed, Cynthia Heenan of Constitutional Litigation Associates, P.C., a Detroit law firm representing the Guilford family, said next steps will include Judge Paul L. Maloney setting a scheduling conference with lawyers from both sides.

During that conference deadlines will likely be set for naming witnesses, she said. Dyer said he expects that to happen in about 30 days.

After that both sides can begin taking depositions from each of those witnesses, Heenan said.

“The judges usually do set a trial date after they hold a scheduling conference,” Heenan said.

But it could be anywhere from a year to three before the lawsuit goes to trial, she added.

 

Breakdown of the traffic stop

Sgt. Jonathan Frost initiated the traffic stop around 8:25 p.m. Feb. 28 after Deven Guilford, who was driving on a rural stretch of M-43 between Grand Ledge and Mulliken, flashed his high beams thinking Frost had his on.

Over the course of the next several minutes, Frost and Guilford argued about whether Frost's high beams were on, Guilford's reluctance to turn over his driver's license and Frost's refusal to give Guilford his badge number. After calling for priority backup, Frost moved to arrest Guilford, whose toxicology results showed he had an active ingredient in marijuana in his system.

Frost opened the car's door, ordered Guilford out and tried to pull him out. Guilford initially resisted, but got out of the car and on the ground after Frost pulled out his stun gun.

Guilford told him he didn't have a weapon, which the investigation later confirmed. Frost moved behind him and deployed his stun gun, which wasn’t effective, after he said Guilford looked back at him in an aggressive way and resisted putting his hands behind his back.

Guilford was able to get off the ground and charge at Frost. The two ended up in a snow-filled ditch on the side of the road, with Guilford hitting Frost in the head and face and Frost starting to lose consciousness, he told authorities.

Frost pulled his weapon and tried to fire, but the gun jammed, Lloyd said in his report. Frost cleared the round, loaded another and fired seven shots, all of which struck Guilford, with the fatal shot being to the head.

Source: Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney's office investigation and video footage