Kopf v. Skyrm

This suit was a civil-rights action claiming excessive use of force. Ada Kopf (plaintiff) was the mother and the personal representative of the late Anthony Casella. Casella was involved in a pizza store robbery, and, after he escaped from the robbery, police officer Joseph Wing tracked Casella with a police dog named Iron. Another police officer, James Skyrm (defendant), joined in the hunt for Casella. Casella was apprehended, and Iron bit him numerous times. The investigating officers also struck Casella in the head several times with a slapjack and beat Casella with a flashlight at one point. Casella had lunged forward, the officers had interpreted the lunge as an attempt to grab an officer’s gun, and Casella had been hit in the head again. Casella was ultimately beaten senseless and sustained significant injuries, including an epidural hematoma and multiple dog bites, including in the scrotum. Casella was hospitalized in a brain-injury rehabilitation facility for five months and never fully recovered. Casella pled guilty to armed robbery and, while serving time in state prison, filed this suit. Casella was attacked and killed in prison, causing his mother, Kopf, to become the named plaintiff. At trial, summary judgment was granted for the police officers. Kopf appealed, and the appellate court reversed and remanded. On remand, Kopf was not allowed to call two expert witnesses to testify. One witness, Thomas Knott, was a retired canine-unit trainer for the city of Baltimore and head of the city’s canine unit for 16 years. Knott would have testified as to the improper use of the police dog, which should have been used to locate Casella, not to bite him. Another witness, Robert diGrazia, had served as chief of police in Montgomery County, Maryland, and police commissioner of the cities of St. Louis and Boston. diGrazia would have testified as to the improper use of slapjacks by the three officers. Because Kopf could not call these witnesses, she instead had to call officer Wing to ask about the use of the police dog and slapjacks, and Wing did not provide answers helpful to Kopf’s case. After the jury returned a verdict for the officers, Kopf appealed.