Posted on 05/14/2026 3:13:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A court granted qualified immunity to all 11 deputies accused of violating John Griswold’s 14th Amendment rights.
Imagine you're a sheriff's deputy and a detainee arrives, unresponsive and moving slowly after ingesting a large quantity of unknown pills. After a doctor clears him for jail, with a warning that any "deterioration" will require immediate medical care, the detainee is sent into a cell where he vomits profusely and remains unresponsive in the same position all night. Should you, as the deputy, call for help? And should you be legally held responsible if your inaction leads to the detainee's death?
Earlier this week, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled no, granting qualified immunity—the legal doctrine that protects police officers from federal civil rights lawsuits unless they violate a "clearly established" constitutional right—to all 11 Livingston County, Michigan, officers involved in the 2018 death of John Griswold. This ruling reversed a March 2025 decision by Judge Robert White of the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, who had denied immunity to seven officers and the county.
In October 2018, Brighton police arrested Griswold, a father of two with no criminal record, following a dispute with his brother, Tim, who would later tell ABC News affiliate WXYZ that John had been irritable due to anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications. Family members informed officers that Griswold had ingested at least 10 unknown pills, later identified as ulcer medication. En route to the county jail, Griswold "slurred his speech," "struggled" to stay upright, and reported he could "hardly walk."
At the jail, nurse Trina Barnett observed Griswold sweating with "pin point pupils" and ordered an emergency room evaluation. After arriving at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital, attending physician William Kanitz diagnosed Griswold with QTc prolongation—a condition linked to antidepressants that causes abnormal heart rhythms—but found no immediate risk. However, in his discharge papers, Kanitz warned the officers to seek help for "significant changes or worsening" or if there was "recurring vomiting." Griswold died the next morning from "sudden cardiac death," according to court documents.
While the district court initially sided with Griswold's estate—suggesting inadequate training had led to officers' deliberate indifference—the 6th Circuit disagreed.
According to the appeals court, to prove that officers violated Griswold's 14th Amendment rights as a pretrial detainee, his condition would have to be serious enough to require treatment or his need for medical attention would have had to be "obvious" to the average person.
In its ruling, the court found that Griswold's case failed to meet the standards set in similar cases, including Blackmore v. Kalamazoo County (2004) and Preyor ex rel. Preyor v. City of Ferndale (2007), and Burwell v. City of Lansing (2021), because he only vomited once and "displayed no outward signs of distress" while making "minor movements" throughout the night that would "suggest to jail officials that he was in no immediate need of medical attention."
But the officers' own testimony would suggest that they had recognized outward signs of distress, but failed to act on them. After Griswold vomited around 8 p.m., officers checked in on him 25 times throughout the night. This includes Deputy Patrick Turchi, who is seen on video entering Griswold's cell, even though Turchi testified that he didn't recall being in the cell or observing the vomit.
After Griswold spent all night covered in his own vomit, officers are seen on video serving him breakfast outside his cell, a minute before Griswold's death throes began. According to court records, two deputies looked into the cell around the same time Griswold "started convulsing." He was dead about 10 minutes later.
Livingston County does not provide a medical professional between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., leaving jail deputies responsible for checking inmates' medical conditions. Yet both the sheriff and his deputies testified that they weren't trained to assess medical distress or recognize symptoms requiring "immediate medical attention."
While their lack of knowledge aided in the jail officers' arguments for qualified immunity, it might not exempt Livingston County from the Griswold estate's failure to train theory. Judge White found there was sufficient evidence that the County's "inadequate" training caused Griswold's death.
Kali Henderson, the attorney representing Livingston County and the sheriff's office, tells Reason that "no one did more for Mr. Griswold" than the officers at the Livingston County Jail. Attorneys for Trinity Health Livingston Hospital, Kanitz, and the Griswold Estate did not respond to Reason's request for comment at the time of publication.
There should be nothing unreasonable about expecting law enforcement to provide or procure medical assistance to an unresponsive person covered in their own vomit, especially an inmate whose every freedom relies on an officer's discretion.
There was a case that a police officer stole $60,000. What police officer doesn't know they shouldn't do that?
I know Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has indicated he would like to revisit Qualified Immunity.
13 Hours In Vomit is a great name for a rock band.
“or his need for medical attention would have had to be “obvious” to the average person.”
The OBVIOUS warning was there stated in black and white in the doctor’s discharge, OBVIOUSLY indicating he needed constant observation for some period of time.
Whatever deputies ignored his symptoms should be prosecuted.
Maybe his brother Tim, knowing that his brother took an overdose of pills, should be charged for calling the cops instead of an ambulance.
what constitutes constant and how close do they have to get, also how many shift workers do the checking.
Exactly. He should have called an ambulance.
Prosecuted for what?
The inmate died because he ingested pills and who knows what else.
After vomiting he went to sleep for 13 hours (unresponsive) just like any other drunk they receive at jail. What symptoms did he have before dyeing? None, he was asleep at his bench. The vomit was from before he fell asleep.
“what constitutes constant and how close do they have to get, also how many shift workers do the checking”
A simple and appropriate question about that to the discharge doctor would have been a reasonable thing to do - such as “how often, and for how long, should someone be checking on him”.
Why would a doctor discharge a person in such a state?
They could have just shot him with a squirt gun while ‘sleeping’ from outside the cage. No reaction-go inside.
This is partly the hospital’s fault. He was at risk with abnormal heart rhythm, dilated pupils, vomiting, slurring his words and couldn’t hold himself up. They knew he took a handful of unknown pills. They should have admitted him and put him on the EKG.
There was another case of a jailer who ignored a clearly mentally deranged man. That man was screaming, but also running back and forth smashing his head against the wall and the cell bars. He was bleeding profusely. The cops just ignored him. He knocked himself out eventually and died of brain swelling or aneurism (I forget exactly which, but the self-harm is the issue).
I do think many cases police should have qualified immunity for things they do on the job and for the job. “qualified” is they key word. But at some point simple human decency has to be a factor. These prisoners are in their custody and thus some extra care has to be taken as they cannot, or are not capable of, caring for themselves. And sure, these are both cases of obnoxious behavior brought on by the prisoners’ own issues and I’m sure an annoyance for the cops to deal with. But they can’t just ignore the prisoners’ conditions inside the cage, either. If not the specific officers involved then the city/county/parish as a group. They need to have procedures and follow them for cases like these.
He was slurring his words, vomiting, and could not walk or stand up. He needed regular (not constant) observation. I think the hospital bears much of the responsibility for releasing him in that condition - known to have swallowed a handful of unknown pills and barely conscious with heart arrhythmia. Should’ve kept him on the heart monitor at least.
Back the Blue, Until It Happens to You
The Er doc said bring him back if he continues vomiting. They didn’t do that.
The doctor should never have cleared him for jail.
We don’t know if it’s his vomit. You can’t dust for vomit.
Gotta be a punk band.
> We don’t know if it’s his vomit. You can’t dust for vomit.
It's best left unsolved.
Police custody is not the appropriate place for sick, insane, suicidal, and/or drug-poisoned people. Why did the deceased’s family put the police on him in the first place (the brother knew the deceased had swallowed a bunch of pills)? Why did the Emergency Room docs think a jail provided free but adequate medical monitoring?
I don’t like the idea of police being immune for negligent actions. I also don’t like dumping inappropriate tasks on the police.
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