Sebastian County deputies fight civil rights suit: McClain’s ‘noncompliance’ justified force

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The effective difference between unwillingness to comply versus inability to comply with police commands was a key point debated in appellate court Thursday in a case involving three local deputies.

The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office deputies are accused of excessive use of force in a 2020 incident involving a driver who had a medical condition.

All three officers have denied the charges against them and put forth a qualified immunity defense in the federal civil rights lawsuit.

"'When faced with noncompliance, an officer is entitled to use some force to gain compliance,'" Thomas Kieklak, defense attorney for Nick Tuttle, Brent T. Smith and Jonathan D. Outhouse, quoted from prior case law before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis.

"It is impossible to argue that the officers in this case, and especially Tuttle ... wasn't faced with noncompliance," Kieklak said in an audio recording provided by the court. "He was faced with the very definition of noncompliance."

Attorney Ayana C. Curry, representing plaintiff Tyler U. McClain, told the three-judge Eighth Circuit panel that although the deputies were faced with difficult circumstances, the force they used against McClain was not warranted.

"It's a tough situation. It was not aided by the constitutional violations that were heaped on her," Curry said. "The answer is not to hurt her."

Eighth Circuit Judges L. Steven Grasz, David R. Stras and Jonathan A. Kobes heard the appeal and will issue a decision at a later date.

The lawsuit stems from McClain's May 14, 2020, interaction with law enforcement about 2 a.m. after she lost control of her vehicle near the intersection of Arkansas 10 and U.S. 71 outside Greenwood, crashed through a fence and stopped about 50 yards off the road, according to court documents.

Emergency Medical Services personnel who happened to be in the area found McClain lying beside the vehicle, court records show. She was injured and disoriented, court documents state.

After EMS reported the crash to the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and Greenwood Police Department, and they responded, medical personnel told three of seven officers that McClain's blood sugar was low, according to court filings.

McClain was confused and did not understand the severity of her injuries or damage to her car, court documents state.

"She went to her car and began attempting to repair it with her bare hands, then sat down in the driver's seat and tried to stuff the airbag back into its steering-wheel compartment," court filings state.

Deputy Smith repeatedly asked McClain what she was doing and asked her to exit her vehicle multiple times, according to documents.

"Then he dragged her out of her vehicle, pinned her face-down on the ground, and he and Deputy Jonathan David Outhouse handcuffed Ms. McClain, at which point she began screaming in terror," court documents state. "Over the next several minutes, Deputies Outhouse and Smith sat on Ms. McClain and used their knees to keep her pinned to the ground while she was handcuffed, despite her repeatedly screaming that they were causing her pain."

The two, with Tuttle, then shackled McClain, "dragged her 40 yards" to a patrol car and tried to get her in the squad car, court documents state.

"She repeatedly screamed that she was in pain," court filings state.

McClain was arrested on suspicion of two counts of second-degree battery, obstruction of governmental operations, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

The charges were later dropped.

Law enforcement authorities disputed details of the incident that were presented in court filings for the lawsuit, stating McClain kicked or tried to kick officers.