Estate of Jason Thomson v. Thomas Behn

Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit·Decided July 9, 2026·No. 25-2827·Published·Kirsch

Opinion

In the

United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-2827 THE ESTATE OF JASON THOMSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.

THOMAS BEHN, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. No. 23-C-84 — William C. Griesbach, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED MAY 12, 2026 — DECIDED JULY 9, 2026 ____________________

Before BRENNAN, Chief Judge, and KIRSCH and LEE, Circuit Judges. KIRSCH, Circuit Judge. Jason Thomson was arrested at St. Vincent Hospital by officers from the Green Bay Police De- partment after behaving erratically and aggressively towards hospital staff. During his arrest and restraint, Thomson strug- gled against the officers. He also repeatedly stated that he couldn’t breathe. Officers monitored Thomson’s breathing and transported him to the Brown County Jail, where he ex- 2 No. 25-2827

perienced a cardiac arrhythmia and died. Thomson’s Estate filed suit against the police officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, al- leging excessive use of force and failure to provide medical care in violation of the Fourth Amendment, as well as a Monell failure-to-train claim against the City of Green Bay and Brown County. The district court granted summary judgment to the police officers, Green Bay, and Brown County. On appeal, the Estate challenges the dismissal of its claims against the police officers and Green Bay. Because no reasonable jury could find in the Estate’s favor on the alleged constitutional violations and, in any event, the officers are entitled to qualified immun- ity, we affirm. I We recount the facts in the light most favorable to the Es- tate of Jason Thomson, the nonmoving party. Argyropoulos v. City of Alton, 539 F.3d 724, 727–28 (7th Cir. 2008). On the even- ing of February 9, 2020, Thomson suffered a seizure while at St. John’s Homeless Shelter in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Emer- gency medical services transported Thomson to St. Vincent Hospital, where he received treatment. In the early morning hours of February 10, Thomson became agitated after accus- ing one of the nurses of rolling her eyes at him. Because Thom- son was yelling and uncooperative, hospital staff called the Green Bay Police Department. Video from the hospital, the squad car used to transport Thomson, and the Brown County Jail captured much of what happened next. Officer Michael O’Donnell was the first to re- spond. When he arrived at the hospital, Thomson was stand- ing shirtless in a hallway, confronting hospital nurses and se- curity officers. Thomson was flailing his arms and yelling in- coherently. Officer O’Donnell approached Thomson from be- No. 25-2827 3

hind and briefly followed Thomson down the hallway, plac- ing himself between Thomson and hospital staff. Thomson turned to face Officer O’Donnell, who then grabbed Thom- son’s wrist and pushed Thomson against a wall. Thomson buckled backwards onto the floor, where Officer O’Donnell and hospital security officers struggled to restrain him. Of- ficer Christopher Vaubel then arrived and began to assist, and the hospital security officers stepped away. At this point, Thomson was lying on his stomach and officers were on their knees attempting to restrain him as he continued to wriggle and flail. Officer Alex Wanish joined and eventually the three officers were able to handcuff Thomson. During this encoun- ter, Thomson stated that he could not breathe and that he was going to die. In response, Officer O’Donnell placed his hand on Thomson’s back to confirm that he was breathing, and Of- ficers Vaubel and Wanish ensured that no one was impeding Thomson’s breathing by putting pressure on his upper torso. Within several minutes, Sergeant Thomas Behn and Offic- ers Scott Delsart, Ben Harvarth, and Karen Pineda also arrived on the scene. Sergeant Behn assisted Officers O’Donnell, Vaubel, and Wanish in restraining Thomson, who continued to struggle, including kicking his legs. The officers therefore decided to place Thomson in a WRAP device, which immobi- lizes an individual’s lower body in a fabric case, to prevent him from injuring himself or others. As Officers Vaubel, Delsart, Wanish, and Sergeant Behn applied the WRAP, Thomson continued to say that he couldn’t breathe. Sergeant Behn monitored Thomson and observed that he was breath- ing and that none of the officers was applying pressure that might restrict his breathing. The officers placed a loosely se- cured foam helmet onto Thomson’s head and then carried 4 No. 25-2827

him, restrained in the WRAP, out of the hospital and into a squad car for transport to the Brown County Jail. Throughout Thomson’s arrest and restraint, the officers observed his physical symptoms, including his labored breathing, sweating, foaming at the mouth, gibberish, and ab- normal strength. The police department’s policy manual identifies some of these symptoms as potential signs of “in- creased risk of sudden death” and states that “[c]alls involv- ing these persons should be considered medical emergen- cies.” Department policy also states that if a subject restrained in the WRAP “complains of or shows signs of breathing dis- tress,” “medical attention should be provided immediately,” and that arrestees that claim injury should be medically cleared prior to booking. Before Thomson’s departure from the hospital, Sergeant Behn filled out a medical clearance form and submitted it to hospital staff for completion. That form stated that Thomson had been treated for a seizure and had fought with the offic- ers. The bottom portion, labeled “Provider Medical Stability Exam” and completed by hospital staff, had a checkmark next to the box stating: “Patient Uncooperative. To the best of my knowledge a medical emergency does not exist.” That portion was signed by the attending physician in the hospital’s emer- gency room. Officers Harvath and Pineda drove Thomson to the jail, with Officer Vaubel accompanying them in a separate vehicle. When Thomson was placed in the car, Officer Wanish turned the foam helmet around so that its back side covered Thom- son’s face. It’s not clear from the footage whether this was in- tentional. During the roughly ten-minute drive to the jail, Thomson maneuvered the foam helmet to uncover his nose No. 25-2827 5

and mouth. He eventually removed the helmet completely. Thomson also repeated his complaints that he couldn’t breathe. In response, Officer Harvath asked Thomson what was wrong with his breathing. Thomson responded that he would explain once the officers removed the WRAP. The of- ficers continued to the jail without removing the WRAP or seeking medical attention. Thomson arrived at the jail around 3:10 am. By that time, he was pale, largely unresponsive, and had to be carried from the car. Officers Harvath, Pineda, and Vaubel met jail officers, who asked the jail’s Health Service Unit to assess Thomson. Nurse Rebecca Warren arrived around 3:15 am and saw that Thomson was pale, drooling, and unable to communicate co- herently. She took Thomson’s pulse and respirations but couldn’t take his blood pressure. Based on her observations, Nurse Warren concluded that Thomson could not be admit- ted to the jail and instead needed to go to a hospital for reeval- uation. Jail officers carried Thomson—still confined in the WRAP—back to the squad car, where Thomson’s condition deteriorated. Approximately five minutes later, Officers Har- vath and Pineda moved him to the floor of the jail’s sally port, removed the WRAP, and began CPR. Paramedics then ar- rived on the scene, attempted to resuscitate Thomson, and eventually transported him to a hospital, where he was pro- nounced dead.

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