ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - A man hit by buckshot after smoking marijuana and leading police on a high-speed chase can sue the now-deceased sheriff who shot him, a Georgia court has ruled.
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Sept. 26 ruled in favor of plaintiff Matthew Schantz, whose federal lawsuit against former Appling County Sheriff Benny Deloach failed but has since been given an opportunity to sue in Georgia state court.
There remains a question of whether the estate of Deloach, who passed in 2020, is entitled to immunity because he possibly acted with actual malice or intent to cause injury.
"At a minimum, the evidence is in conflict as to whether Deloach reasonably believed the second shot was necessary to prevent either (a) death or great bodily injury to himself or (b) the commission of some other forcible felony," the court ruled.
"Accordingly, there is a genuine issue of material fact that precludes the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Estate, and the trial court did not err with respect to this issue."
The incident occurred in June 2016, when Schantz smoked marijuana and set off on a motorcycle that lacked a tag. As police cars attempted to pull him over, Schantz sped off at more than 100 miles per hour.
He passed an officer from Wayne County, made a U-turn, popped a wheelie in front of the officer and left Highway 341. Deloach and another Appling County officer were waiting for him.
Schantz swerved to miss the other officer, leading Deloach to fire a warning shot with his shotgun. Schantz said buckshot his pavement and his motorcycle.
Schantz stopped and said he put his right hand in the air but kept his left hand on the clutch.
"But when Schantz heard Deloach rack the shotgun again and saw him 'squint[] his eye like he was going to shoot,' Schantz 'took off' towards the south as Deloach fired again, causing buckshot to penetrate the right side of Schantz's helmet, face and neck as well as the motorcycle's right side mirror," the ruling said.
Schantz crashed and fled on foot but was captured and taken to a hospital with fractures to his face, jaw and eye socket. The bike was moving away from Deloach when he shot.
Though Schantz can pursue his battery and other claims, his claims under the Georgia Constitution that Deloach's use of deadly force was an "unreasonable" seizure and "abuse" of a person being arrested were dismissed.