WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) -- Nearly two months after the city of Whitehall and one of its police officers were named in a wrongful death lawsuit, Whitehall has given its response.
On Jan. 19, Alexander Menhenett was attempting to buy a heater at the Whitehall Walmart on East Main Street when he had an interaction with then-auxiliary Whitehall officer Kyle Schneider. Schneider went to arrest Menhenett and ended up sweeping his legs to take him down, after which Menhenett hit his head. He was taken to a hospital and died days later. Menhenett's estate is suing the city, Schneider, Walmart and a private security company Schneider worked for.
According to Menhenett's estate, the 43-year-old had a disability and a traumatic brain injury from a car accident that left him deaf in both ears. His lawyers said he had a cochlear implant in his left ear but still struggled in noisy spaces and with lip reading, and they said he walked differently due to his injuries. His lawyers also said Menhenett suffered two other brain injuries since the accident and used alcohol to cope with his trauma.
The lawsuit was filed Oct. 1, and on Dec. 2, Whitehall and Schneider filed a joint response to the claims, denying most of them. The city and Schneider said the complaint against them does not include anything that could be granted relief and said the lawsuit was filed outside of the statute of limitations. Menhenett's estate filed six claims, each with its own statute of limitations in Ohio, most of which have a statute of limitations of one or two years after the incident, which will be this upcoming January.
The response also said the city and Schneider are protected under qualified immunity, or a doctrine that protects government officials from personal liability when performing their jobs. The city argues Schneider's response was within the bounds of his role, which protects him. They also said Menhenett's failure to follow instructions while being arrested protects Schneider from liability, something his estate has already denied.
In total, Whitehall and Schneider denied 44 allegations in the original complaint, including that that Menhenett was calm and that his cochlear implant was visible and could clearly indicate a disability. According to Schneider’s narrative of the incident filed with Whitehall police, he observed his implant in the conversation with Menhenett. The narrative did not specify if he knew Menhenett could not understand him well with the device in his ear, just that he was aware of it and knew it harmed communication when it was dislodged.
They deny that there is no crime for public intoxication and that there was no probable cause to arrest Menhennett. Under Ohio law, public intoxication that causes alarm is a minor misdemeanor, which can be elevated to a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, under disorderly conduct law.
They also deny that the use of force was unjustified, and deny that Schneider used deadly force at all. Menhenett's lawyers said it must have been deadly force because it killed him. Schneider was made to attend Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, which is protocol when an officer is involved in an incident that results in someone's death, typical in deadly force cases.
However, Whitehall argues Menhenett's pre-existing trauma contributed to the death, removing the blame solely from Schneider's action, which is supported by the findings of the autopsy report. Whitehall found the use of force to be justified, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation declined to investigate further.
Whitehall and Schneider also denied two paragraphs in the complaint explaining the takedown. In the complaint, Menhenett's lawyers said Schneider's grip made Menhenett unable to soften his landing, leading to a large pool of blood pouring from his head and Menhenett becoming unresponsive. NBC4 has the body camera footage from the incident, and it is not immediately clear which portion of the claims Whitehall is denying.
Schneider currently works as a part-time Whitehall officer, a paid position with the division of police. At the time of Menhenett's death, he was an unpaid officer.
According to court records, the lawsuit will have a preliminary pretrial conference on Jan. 10.
