WILLIAMSPORT - There are too many questions at this stage of the litigation to dismiss a suit stemming from the 2016 fatal police shooting of a Columbia County man with mental health issues, a federal judge says.
However, U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann on Friday dismissed certain claims but did not preclude some of them from being raised again.
His ruling was in the suit brought by James M. Young Sr. and Sandra E. Young on behalf of the estate of their son, Jonathan, who police fatally shot in his mobile home near Bloomsburg on Nov. 13, 2016.
The suit contends police were not properly trained in mental health cases and they used excessive force in executing an involuntary committal warrant against their son who struggled with schizophrenia.
It also alleges violations of Young's due process rights and the American with Disabilities Act along with negligent inflection of emotional distress.
It was admitted Young was resisting arrest and attempting to flee, but was he creating a risk of danger, Brann asks in his opinion.
Other questions the judge raises include what portion of culpability should be assigned to Young in light of his mental illness and were the defendants forced to make a spilt-second judgment in a rapidly evolving situation.
On the day of the shooting Young's parents say they found their son agitated and hallucinating.
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At some point Young, 38, ordered his parents to leave the home, resulting in a clamor that prompted a neighbor to call 911.
Before law enforcement arrived, Young barricaded himself in the home by screwing and boarding the front door shut.
Four Scott Twp. police officers responded followed by Megan Fetterman of the Columbia Montour Snyder Union Counties of Central Pennsylvania Service System (CMSU) based in Danville.
She had a warrant authorizing Young's involuntary mental health committal.
Young's parents claim they told police and others who responded there were no firearms in the house and they did not believe their son appeared to be in danger.
For an hour police attempted to talk Young out of the house and when that failed they used a battering ram to gain entry. Versions of what happened next differ.
According to the lawsuit, Young was shot, forcing him to retreat to a bedroom. When he emerged he was shot again, this time in the abdomen.
The police version states a stun gun was used but that did not stop Young from coming at officers with a hatchet and a baseball bat.
Scott Twp. Sgt. Joe Grassley fired twice after Young hit him in the head, investigators said.
Young died three days later in Geisinger Medical Center near Danville. The shooting was ruled justified.
Defendants in the case are Scott, Brian Creek and South Centre townships whose police responded, CMSU, Fetterman, eight police officers, including Grassley, and up to 10 John Does, described as police and mental health workers whose identity will be learned through discovery.