Federal court rejects Cumberland deputy’s appeal in fatal shooting

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal from the Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy sued in connection with the fatal shooting of a military veteran in 2020.

Authorities say 37-year-old Adrian Jason Roberts charged at deputies with a machete before he was shot. Deputies were trying to serve Roberts with involuntary commitment papers.

“This case arises from the tragic death of Adrian Roberts, a veteran in severe mental health distress,” 4th Circuit Chief Judge Albert Diaz wrote Tuesday for a unanimous three-judge panel. “Tasked with executing an involuntary commitment order, law enforcement officers forcibly entered Adrian’s home. Within seconds, Deputy Justin Evans shot and killed him.”

“Adrian’s wife sued Evans for Fourth Amendment violations, including the use of excessive force,” Diaz added. “She alleged that Adrian’s back was turned when Evans shot him. But Evans claimed that Adrian had charged the officers with a machete, requiring him to use deadly force.”

“The district court found disputes of material fact and denied Evans qualified immunity and summary judgment on the excessive force claim,” the 4th Circuit opinion continued. “Because that decision turned on issues of fact and not law, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. So we must dismiss.”

Roberts was honorably discharged from the military in 2005 but “struggled with a host of mental health disorders,” Diaz explained. He dealt with “severe paranoia,” believing that the government was spying on him and planned to attack him. He believed “neighborhood children were disguised as assassins.”

Roberts’ wife, Sabara Fisher Roberts, asked a mental health counselor in 2020 to evaluate him. The counselor told Sabata Roberts that her husband could get treatment only if she filed an involuntary commitment order.

“Sabara had done so twice before, and she agreed again,” Diaz wrote. “She signed an affidavit that noted Adrian was ‘arming himself with throwing knives, mace, and a machete which he keeps by his side even when he sleeps and showers,’ and that Sabara ‘fears for her and the children’s safety.’”

A magistrate judge issued a commitment order the same day. The Cumberland County sheriff’s office sent a special response team, including Evans, to assist with serving the papers.

When officers could not convince Roberts to exit his home, they breached his door. One team member who saw Roberts inside the house warned colleagues that he had appeared to “pick something up,” Diaz wrote.

Evans entered the home first. “Within seconds, Evans shot Adrian three times and killed him,” Diaz wrote. “His body was found lying face up next to two machetes. The autopsy report showed shots in Adrian’s upper left back, the back of his left arm, and the outside of his left arm. The bullets’ trajectory was generally from left to right, but the report made no findings about the order of the gunshot wounds.”

Sabara Roberts filed Fourth Amendment claims against Evans and other officers. She alleged unlawful entry and the use of excessive force.

US District Judge James Dever threw out the unlawful entry complaint but allowed the excessive force claim to move forward. Only that portion of the complaint against Evans remains.

“It wasn’t clear to the court ‘whether [Adrian] posed an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others or was resisting arrest,’” Diaz wrote. “Sabara relied on the autopsy report to argue that Adrian was facing away from the officers when Evans shot him, since he was shot in the back. But Evans insisted that he fired his weapon because Adrian ran at him while holding a machete above his head. Other officers testified to the same effect.”

An expert forensic pathologist testified that Evans’ story was consistent with the autopsy results. Yet that report made no conclusive findings about Roberts’ actions.

“The district court concluded that the autopsy called Evans’s story into question,” Diaz wrote. “When that evidence was viewed in the light most favorable to Sabara, said the court, ‘[a] reasonable jury could find that … [Adrian] was unarmed and facing backwards when Evans shot him from eight feet away without any warning.’ This factual dispute precluded qualified immunity and summary judgment, because ‘a reasonable jury could find that Evans violated [Adrian’s] clearly established rights.’”

Evans appealed to the 4th Circuit.

“We start (and end) with jurisdiction,” Diaz explained.

“Evans argues that it was reasonable for him to use deadly force because Adrian charged the officers while wielding a machete,” the 4th Circuit opinion explained. “But whether Adrian was running toward the officers is precisely the conduct that the district court found was in dispute. Evans asks us to correct the district court’s view of the evidence. This we cannot do.”

“Because the district court’s order turned on issues of fact, we don’t have jurisdiction and must dismiss,” Diaz explained.

“While Sabara’s evidence is far from overwhelming, it’s more than pure speculation,” he wrote. “The autopsy report is material evidence that could suggest Adrian was retreating when Evans shot him.”

“We decline to forecast how Sabara will fare at trial.” Diaz explained. “We hold only that the autopsy report was enough to create a ‘genuine’ issue of fact. And that ends our analysis.”

Judges Stephanie Thacker and Allison Jones Rushing joined Diaz’s opinion.

“Federal court rejects Cumberland deputy’s appeal in fatal shooting” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.