Dismissal motion says Md. man with Down syndrome was trespassing when he died in custody

by David Dishneau from the Daily Journal:
HAGERSTOWN, Maryland — A man with Down syndrome who died in the custody of three Frederick County sheriff's deputies contributed to his own asphyxiation by resisting arrest after refusing to leave a theater seat for which he had not paid, the officers said in a federal court filing Monday.
The deputies, who were moonlighting as mall security officers, asked a judge to dismiss a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Robert Ethan Saylor's parents, contending that they, too, were at fault for putting their son in the care of an aide who couldn't control his angry outbursts.
The motion, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, is the first detailed response from the deputies to the family's allegations that the officers and Regal Cinemas Inc. were grossly negligent in the Jan. 12 confrontation at the Westview Promenade shopping center near Frederick.
The officers were cleared of criminal misconduct by a Frederick County grand jury in March. They and Knoxville, Tennessee-based Regal have denied any civil liability for Saylor's death.
Saylor, who had an IQ of 40 and weighed 294 pounds, died with a fractured larynx after the deputies tried to escort him in handcuffs from an auditorium where he was awaiting a repeat viewing of "Zero Dark Thirty." Saylor had re-entered the theater while his aide went for her car. The theater manager had summoned the deputies.
Baltimore attorney Daniel Karp, representing Lt. Scott Jewell, Sgt. Rich Rochford and Deputy First Class James Harris, wrote that the deputies responded reasonably to an apparent case of trespass and theft by a subject who then resisted arrest.
"His decision to struggle with the deputies when they seized him by the arms to forcibly remove him from the theater clearly exposed him to a risk of injury," Karp wrote.
He suggested that Saylor's parents, Patricia and Ronald Saylor, had a duty to either supervise their son appropriately in public places or delegate that responsibility to someone "who would be able to control him adequately, so that he did not engage in conduct detrimental to other persons or to himself, including criminal conduct."

Parents sue deputies in death of man with Down syndrome at Maryland movie theater

By M. Alex Johnson, Staff Writer, NBC News:

Saylor's full-time aide told investigators that she warned the deputies that the 294-pound Saylor, who used a wheelchair, would "freak out" if they touched him.The parents of a man with Down syndrome on Thursday filed suit against three Maryland sheriff's deputies for causing his "violent, terrifying, and painful death" as they tried to remove him from a movie theater early this year.Robert Ethan Saylor, 26, of New Market, Md., asphyxiated on Jan. 12 after the three Frederick County deputies, who were moonlighting as mall security officers, dragged him out of the theater in handcuffs and restraints.

Ethan Saylor petition with 340,000 signatures presented to MD Governor

from ABC 2 News:
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The family of Ethan Saylor presented a petition to the governor Thursday containing 340,000 signatures in support of launching an investigation into his death.

Ethan Saylor was a 26-year-old man with Down's Syndrome. He died while in police custody at a movie theater in Frederick. Three off-duty Frederick County Sheriffs working at the movie theater intervened when Saylor refused to leave the theater after seeing the film Zero Dark Thirty.

Robert Ethan Saylor Petition on Change.org Gains More than 300,000 signatures

by Debra Alfarone from WUSA 9 CBS:
The movement is picking up steam, and now, more than a quarter of a million people are behind a Frederick woman's fight for justice for her dead brother.

Emma Saylor launched a change.org petition asking for an independent investigation into the death of her brother, Robert Ethan Saylor, a man with Down Syndrome who died in January after being detained by police. As of Thursday night, that petition had more than 312,000 signatures. 

Ethan Saylor died after an altercation with three off-duty Frederick County sheriff's deputies over a $12 movie ticket at a Frederick movie theater in January. Almost 8 months later, his family, including his sister, Emma, are struggling to find their new normal, "Kinda lost, I mean, there really isn't anything else to say about it other than he's my brother, I just want to know what happened."

Death of man with Down syndrome investigated by Department of Justice

DC News Weather Sports FOX 5 DC WTTG

From My Fox DC:
The Department of Justice is now investigating the death of a Maryland man with Down syndrome who died while in police custody.

The incident happened in Frederick back in January.

Investigators want to know if 26-year-old Robert Ethan Saylor's civil rights were violated.

Three off-duty Frederick County Sheriff's Deputies forcibly removed Saylor from a movie theater when he snuck back in without paying.

Saylor died of asphyxiation after being handcuffed.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22899374/death-of-man-with-down-syndrome-investigated-by-department-of-justice#ixzz2a00ZeQDU

Mom of Man with Down syndrome talks about his death in Maryland Cinema

by Jeremy Meyer from The Denver Post:
Ethan Saylor simply wanted to see a movie one more time.
The Frederick, Md., man had just watched "Zero Dark Thirty" in a theater inside a mall and wanted to see it again.
Saylor, 26, had Down syndrome — a genetic condition that impairs physical growth and intelligence. His condition was likely apparent to the off-duty sheriff's deputies working at the mall on Jan. 12 who were called to remove Saylor because he hadn't paid for another ticket. But those deputies clearly didn't know how to help Saylor work through the issue.
Saylor's aide told them to wait it out. His mother was on the way and he just needed some time. She warned them not to touch Saylor, who could quickly become agitated.
Saylor's mother now believes her son was desperately trying to use his iPhone to figure out how to buy another movie ticket. He didn't carry cash.

Questions haunt family of man with Down syndrome who died in police custody

by Theresa Vargas from The Washington Post:
He was crying out for her.
“Mommy!” someone heard Ethan Saylor scream as three off-duty Frederick County deputies yanked the 26-year-old with Down syndrome from a movie theater seat and dragged him, struggling, toward the door.
Patti Saylor was already in the car on her way to the Regal Westview cinema after getting a call from her son’s 18-year-old aide, saying she was unsure what to do. They had just finished watching “Zero Dark Thirty,” and now Ethan didn’t want to go home. He had hit a Lenscrafter store’s window in protest.
Patti was maybe five minutes away when she called the aide, expecting to hear that Ethan had already calmed down, that the two were fine and eating at McDonald’s. Instead, she was told that Ethan was unconscious, not breathing and on his way to the hospital.
Only this week — after the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office released long-awaited documents detailing its investigation into Robert Ethan Saylor’s death Jan. 12 at the hands of its deputies — would his mother read the witness statements describing how her son had called out for her in his last moments.

Sheriff's Lawyer: Man With Down Syndrome Was Trespassing

from WBAL.com:

A man with Down syndrome who died in police custody in a Frederick movie theater was trespassing when he refused to vacate a seat for which he had not paid, a lawyer for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

Baltimore attorney Daniel Karp said the three deputies who restrained Robert Ethan Saylor took action based on their training and their perception of the situation.

"The management didn't want him there without paying for a ticket. That's trespassing. That's a crime. Not a big crime, maybe - but that's a crime," Karp said in a telephone interview.

Aide to man with Down syndrome who died in theater had warned police, report says

from the Washington Post by Theresa Vargas:
Moments before off-duty Frederick County sheriff’s deputies tried to force a young man with Down syndrome out of a movie theater — a move that eventually led to his death — Robert Ethan Saylor’s 18-year-old aide warned them that he would “freak out” if they touched him.
“Next thing I know, there are I think three or four cops holding Ethan, trying to put him in handcuffs,” the aide told authorities, according to documents from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department obtained Monday by the Associated Press. “I heard Ethan screaming, saying ‘ouch,’ ‘don’t touch me,’ ‘get off’ and crying. Next thing I hear is nothing.”

What happened to Robert Ethan Saylor?

by The Editorial Board from The Washington Post:
WITH EVERY passing day, the appearance grows that Frederick County officials, especially the sheriff, Charles Jenkins, have something to hide in the case of a man with Down syndrome who died in a scuffle with law enforcement officers.
The movie-theater confrontation between Robert Ethan Saylor and off-duty sheriff’s deputies over an unpaid $12 movie ticket occurred nearly six months ago. There has still been no adequate public accounting of the events surrounding this senseless incident, which was ruled a homicide resulting from asphyxia.
Mr. Jenkins promised transparency, vowing that “all the facts will be presented when the investigation is complete.” What can he be waiting for?

National Down syndrome advocates press for independent inquiry into Md. man’s custody death

from the Washington Post by the Associated Press:
National advocates for people with Down syndrome said Tuesday they are pressing for an independent investigation into the death of a man who suffocated while three security officers were trying to forcibly remove him from a movie theater.
The National Down Syndrome Congress and the National Down Syndrome Society said they have met twice with U.S. Justice Department officials about the Jan. 12 death of Robert Ethan Saylor, 26, of New Market. Saylor had Down syndrome.
Officials from the agency’s criminal and civil-rights divisions said on Monday that they need more information before deciding how to proceed, the advocacy groups said.
The executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress said the officers caused Saylor’s death.
“Ethan did not die because he had Down syndrome. Ethan died because he was improperly restrained by three police officers,” said David Tolleson.

Death of arrested man with Down syndrome ruled homicide

by Brett Wilkins of Digital Journal:

The death of a mentally disabled Maryland man who was arrested by police after refusing to leave a cinema has officially been ruled a homicide.

The Washington Post reports that Frederick County Sheriff's Cpl. Jennifer Bailey announced on Friday that the state medical examiner's office has concluded that 26-year-old Robert Saylor of New Market died of asphyxia while in police custody on January 12.

Saylor, who had Down syndrome, allegedly refused to leave a movie theater after viewing "Zero Dark Thirty" on a Saturday night. According to ABC 7, Saylor, who was at the theater with a health aide, wanted to see the movie again. When Saylor refused to leave, cinema staff notified three Frederick County deputies working security at the venue.

The Frederick News-Post reports that Saylor allegedly cursed at the deputies, who then physically removed him from his seat and from the theater. Deputies claim Saylor continued to resist them and was subsequently handcuffed.

A law enforcement source familiar with the case told ABC 7 that Saylor went into medical distress when he was forced face-down to the ground. After realizing he was suffering from some sort of medical emergency, the deputies removed the handcuffs from Saylor and had him transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later declared dead.

Patti Saylor, the victim's mother, told ABC 7 last month that her son did not suffer from any pre-existing medical conditions and that she did not understand how he could have died in police custody.

"He just loved unconditionally everybody," she said. "He has never had anyone put their hands on him in his life. He would not have been doing anything threatening to anybody."

The three deputies involved in Saylor's arrest have been identified as: Lt. Scott Jewell, Sgt. Rich Rochford and Deputy First Class James Harris. All three continue to work their normal assignments while an investigation continues.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/343760#ixzz2LNK8vWSw