Patti Stevens-Rucker, Administrator of the Estate of Jason White, Deceased v. John Frenz, et al.

Sergeant John Frenz and Officer Dustin McKee shot Jason White—a decorated veteran suffering a mental health crisis—several times. While Mr. White lay bleeding on the ground, another officer handcuffed Mr. White and rolled him onto his stomach. Sergeant Frenz and Officer McKee were both trained as first responders, yet neither tried to help Mr. White even though they could “clearly see he was dying.” Instead, they stood over him and watched him bleed to death for the fifteen minutes it took the ambulance to arrive. The district court held that the officers’ failure to assist Mr. White as he lay bleeding to death violated the Fourteenth Amendment, but a divided Sixth Circuit reversed. Relying on a Ninth Circuit decision, the majority held that the officers satisfied their constitutional obligations by “summoning aid” because police have no constitutional duty “to intervene personally.” By contrast, the Eighth and Tenth Circuits have held that police officers trained in first aid are constitutionally obliged to assist persons in their custody who need care when it is safe to do so. The question presented is: Are there circumstances in which police officers are constitutionally obligated to help a person injured during arrest, as the Eighth and Tenth Circuits have held, or do officers necessarily satisfy