Stahl family sues Coshocton County for wrongful death

• David “D.J.” Stahl was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies in 2013 after a car chase in Coshocton.
• Stahl’s family is suing the county for at least $75,000 for his wrongful death.
• The suit claims law enforcement used excessive force to stop him, and denied him medical attention.
• A lawyer for the county argues deputies reacted appropriately to protect themselves and others.

COSHOCTON – The family of a Killbuck man who was fatally shot in 2013 after law enforcement officials reported he led them on a car chase is suing the county.

The federal lawsuit claims David “D.J.” Stahl was wrongly shot and killed by a deputy with the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office and then denied appropriate medical attention as he lay dying in a pickup truck. Stahl’s family is seeking more than $75,000 for compensatory damages plus punitive damages from Coshocton County.

Stahl’s death came after officials said he declined to pull over for a traffic stop on Ohio 83, instead running from a New Concord Police Department officer and then Coshocton County sheriff’s deputies. Authorities have said Deputy Ernest Snyder opened fire on Stahl’s vehicle after he rammed into several cruisers and was attempting to run over officers on foot.

The complaint filed with the U.S. Southern District Court of Ohio criticizes the deputies’ “recklessness” in pursuing and stopping Stahl and alleges shortcomings in the county’s policy for dealing with such incidents.

Massillon attorney William Walker and Cleveland attorney Paul Cushion filed the lawsuit last month on behalf of plaintiff Toni Stahl, David’s mother.

Toni Stahl was not available for comment.

The complaint lists 24 defendants, including the Coshocton County commissioners, Sheriff Tim Rogers and several of his officers, and the former county Emergency Medical Services Director Bernard Minet and several of his first-responders, including current director Todd Shroyer.

Around 9:30 p.m. March 26, 2013, Stahl, then 20, was driving his friend’s truck when a New Concord police officer reported attempting to pull him over for several traffic violations, including weaving and failure to stop at traffic lights, the Tribune previously reported.

Stahl fled the officer down Ohio 83, officials said, and when the pursuit reached dangerous speeds, the officer gave up the chase and radioed the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office to warn them about the truck, the Tribune previously reported.

Three deputies picked up the chase on U.S. 36 near Township Road 509. Video footage shows Stahl’s vehicle ramming into a cruiser driven by Deputy Mark Sharrock, who was injured. Snyder eventually rammed into Stahl’s vehicle, forcing him off the road.

When Deputy David Stone and K-9 officer Dingo approached on foot, they “barely avoided being struck by the suspect’s vehicle,” according to a May 2013 statement from the Coshocton County Prosecutor’s office. Deputy Snyder fired several rounds at the driver’s side of Stahl’s truck after officials said Stahl turned his vehicle on him.

Stahl was taken to Grant Memorial Hospital in Columbus, where he died the next day.

Snyder was not indicted after the incident, and he and the deputies involved were placed on paid administrative leave.

“We are seeking justice for Mr. Stahl and his grieving family,” Walker said in a written statement. “We also hope this suit will help protect the citizens of Coshocton County from rogue law enforcement and policies that encouraged emergency medical (personnel) to be deliberately indifferent to the medical needs of people made helpless by the sheriff.”

County officials listed as defendants were not able to comment on the pending case.

But in a written statement, Andrew Yosowitz, a Columbus attorney representing the county, said Stahl was “hostile” that night when he “purposely attempted to injure or kill a Coshocton County Sheriff’s deputy by ramming his vehicle into the deputy’s cruiser,” and that Snyder “reasonably and appropriately used deadly force” to protect himself and Deputy Stone.

“Coshocton County deputies were able to safely end the pursuit by forcing Mr. Stahl’s vehicle off of the roadway. However, even then, Mr. Stahl continued to try to assault or kill law enforcement as they tried to do their duty,” Yosowitz wrote. “We regret that the family has suffered this loss, but will defend fully the right of the officers to protect life, including their own.”

The defense has not yet submitted a response to the complaint with the district court, Yosowitz said.

elagatta@coshoctontribune.com

740-295-3442

Twitter: @EricLagatta