Spears v. Akron Police Department

Gerald Spears (plaintiff) was a driver involved in a car accident. Officer Kabellar (defendant) responded to the scene and arrested Spears because Kabellar believed Spears was a drunk driver. Spears claimed that during the arrest, Spears was not physically combative but that Kabellar slammed Spears’s face into a police car, grabbed Spears’s neck and arm, and handcuffed Spears too tightly. Spears later consulted a physician and hand specialist regarding an injury to his left wrist, and Spears ultimately needed surgery. Spears and his wife filed a tort lawsuit against the Akron Police Department, the city of Akron, Kabellar, and a John Doe officer (defendants), claiming assault and battery due to excessive force, intentional infliction of emotional distress, reckless infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. The government and its agents filed for summary judgment, asserting they were immune from the lawsuit. The trial court granted summary judgment to the Akron Police Department, finding that it was immune from suit. The trial court also dismissed Spears’s intentional-infliction-of-emotional-distress claim. The trial court denied the city’s and Kabellar’s motions for summary judgment, finding that both defendants could be sued for Kabellar’s alleged excessive force. Kabellar and the city appealed.